Raisi: Israeli actions reminiscent of Nazis’ behavior
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi warned of the danger of the spread of the ongoing conflict in the region if the Israeli regime continues its crimes, including the siege on Gaza and killing of Palestinians.
He made the remarks in a phone conversation with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on Sunday. Raisi asked Western countries and supporters of the Israeli regime what criteria can justify the killings of 700 innocent children by Israel.
He called the actions of the Israeli regime against Palestinians reminiscent of the behavior of the Nazis.
Talks with the French president were the latest in a series of Raisi’s phone conversations with the leaders of some countries on the situation in the Gaza Strip.
In talks with Sultan Haitham bin Tarik of Oman on Saturday, he said Muslim countries and free nations in the world must take “decisive and immediate” action to stop the Israeli “killing machine,” as the war on the besieged Gaza is claiming more civilian lives.
Support by Western countries
Raisi warned the unlimited support by Western countries, particularly the United States, for the crimes of Israel has led to more complication and deterioration of the situation.
He said the Palestinian resistance groups launched Operation Al-Aqsa Storm following the intensification of the regime’s crimes in recent months. The operation, he said, has upset the Zionist-Western calculations.
The Iranian president also raised alarm about plots by Israel and its allies to carry out a massacre in Gaza and force Palestinians to evacuate the northern part of the Strip as the Tel Aviv regime continues to cut off water and electricity, and prevents the entry of medicine and food.
In a statement released on Friday, Israel’s military ordered residents of Gaza City to evacuate the area within 24 hours, in what is viewed as a precursor to a ground invasion.
Raisi also urged that United Nations, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Arab League and other international bodies to address the current dire situation in Gaza.
Israel started its onslaught on October 7, after resistance groups launched multi-pronged Operation Al-Aqsa Storm, the largest military operation against the occupying regime in decades.
According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, the Israeli bombardment of Gaza has killed more than 2,260 people, including more than 700 children, and injured more than 9,800.
In a phone conversation with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani on Saturday, Raisi said lifting the siege and preventing genocide in Gaza require immediate action by all Muslim nations, expressing Iran’s readiness to cooperate with Iraq and other Muslim states in this regard.
Collective punishment
The Iranian president expressed concern over inhumane acts and the killing of innocent people in Gaza and said Israel is trying to avenge its defeat to the resistance forces through “collective punishment and systematic crimes” against defenseless and innocent civilians.
Iran’s president also held separate talks with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
Raisi denounced the Israeli aerial assaults on the besieged Gaza Strip as war crimes.
“The Zionist leaders’ statements and actions in recent days are an obvious example of war crimes and genocide in flagrant violation of all international treaties,” the Iranian president said.
He also held the US and other allies of Tel Aviv responsible for the atrocities committed by Israel against the Palestinians.
“The situation in Palestine is a clear proof of contradictory and hypocritical positions of Westerners who are claiming to defend human rights,” he added.
Operation Al-Aqsa Storm is rooted in 75 years of occupation, humiliation and desecration of sanctities of the Palestinians, Raisi said, noting that the oppressed nation’s new generation has risen up to demand its breached rights.
The Qatari emir, for his part, underlined the need for Tehran-Doha cooperation towards ending the regime’s crimes in Gaza and upholding the Palestinians’ rights.
Western media try to show a false and reversed image of regional developments despite a global awakening with freedom-seeking people supporting the Palestinians’ rights, he added.