Iran says Israel unable to continue Gaza war without US support

Amir-Abdollahian made the remarks in a Wednesday meeting with acting Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati on the sidelines of the Global Refugee Forum 2023 in the Swiss city of Geneva.

The top Iranian diplomat said the US played a major role in the Gaza carnage, stating that the Israeli regime is seeking to evict Palestinians from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank to compensate for failure to achieve any of its declared goals in the months-long aggression on Gaza.

The Tel Aviv regime has resorted to mass killings, a complete siege of Gaza and escalation of criminal acts in the West Bank for that purpose, Amir-Abdollahian said, noting, “It is necessary for Muslim countries to fervently and strongly support the Palestinian nation.”

For his part, Mikati referred to the Gaza crisis as the prime issue of both the Muslim and the entire world.

Tuesday’s United Nation General Assembly resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian truce in the Gaza Strip reflected that the majority of the international community is in favor a truce in the war-torn Palestinian territory, the Lebanese prime minister noted.

Late on Tuesday, the resolution passed with 153 countries voting in favor, and 23 abstaining. The United States and Israel were among the 10 votes against the non-binding resolution.

Israel waged a war on Gaza on October 7 after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas launched the surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the occupying entity in response to the Israeli regime’s decades-long campaign of bloodletting and devastation against Palestinians.

At least 18,608 people, most of them women and children, have been killed as a result of the Gaza war. More than 50,594 individuals have been wounded as well.

The Tel Aviv regime has imposed a “complete siege” on the territory, cutting off fuel, electricity, food, and water to more than two million Palestinians living there.

In a separate meeting with his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi, Amir-Abdollahian also called for closer joint efforts to support Palestinians in the face of the ongoing Israeli genocidal war on Gaza.

“It’s necessary to boost massive efforts to support the Palestinian people, support their resilience and to send humanitarian aid,” he said.

The top Iranian diplomat also hailed Jordan’s efforts to stop the Israeli regime’s genocide in the occupied Palestinian territories, and ensure a ceasefire in Gaza.

Amir-Abdollahian went on to denounce the occupying Tel Aviv regime’s sinister plots to implement its expansionist schemes and displace Palestinian people.

Safadi, for his part, highlighted that his country will neither accept Israeli expansionist plans nor will allow them to come into fruition at the expense of Palestinian people and regional nations.

He noted that Palestinians in Gaza do not fall prey to Israeli bombardments alone, but also lose their lives as a result of lack of food and medicine as well as destruction of houses and hospitals.

Peace will prevail only when the Israeli occupation ends and Palestinian people establish their own sovereign independent state, the Jordanian foreign minister underlined.

Moreover, the Iranian foreign minister said the country does not favor the ongoing Israeli military campaign against the Gaza Strip to expand across the West Asia region, describing the regime’s atrocities in the war-torn territory as genocide.

Amir-Abdollahian made the remarks in a Wednesday meeting with Vatican's Secretary of State Pietro Parolin on the sidelines of the refugee forum.

He highlighted that the Holy See can play a significant role in the settlement of the months-long crisis in Gaza.

Iran regards Hamas as a freedom-seeking Palestinian movement that is struggling against the Israeli occupation, Amir-Abdollahian said, stressing that the unfolding developments in Gaza amount to genocide which the international community cannot tolerate anymore.

The Iranian foreign minister stated that Tehran does not favor the expansion of Gaza war across the region, emphasizing that Palestinian Muslims, Christians and Jews will be able to choose their own political system through a referendum for self-determination.

For his part, Parolin voiced concern about the status quo in Palestinian territories, saying the Holy See supports efforts aimed at ensuring a ceasefire in Gaza.

He also pointed to Vatican’s push for the delivery of humanitarian aid supplies to Palestine, stressing the need for a political solution to the conflict.