Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian warns that the continuation of Israel’s acts of terror and genocide in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip will lead to another human disaster in the region.
Amir-Abdollahian made the remarks in a phone conversation with Secretary General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres on Thursday as Israel plans to launch a long-feared all-out military offensive against Rafah, home to 1.5 million displaced Palestinians.
“In continuation of the ‘policy of terror and genocide’, the Zionist regime (Israel) is now trying to cause another human disaster in the region by closing the Rafah and Karem Abu Salim border crossings,” Amir-Abdollahian said.
He added that Israel aims to render international efforts to stop the war fruitless.
The US must exert pressure on Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept an Egyptian-Qatari ceasefire proposal, he emphasized.
Otherwise, if the US shows leniency towards the Israeli regime in committing new crimes in Rafah, the consequences will be severe for the supporters of the war, the top Iranian diplomat warned.
“Now it is the White House that must choose between showing the will to put pressure on the Israeli regime to stop the war and dragging the region into a new and different level of crisis and tension,” Amir-Abdollahian pointed out.
On Tuesday, Israeli troops took control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza, a vital lifeline for aid to enter the territory. Israeli officials said it was the first step towards a full-scale assault on Rafah.
At least 34,904 people, most of them women and children, have been killed and 78,514 people wounded so far as a result of Israel’s war that the regime began on October 7 following a retaliatory operation by Gaza’s resistance groups.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Amir-Abdollahian hailed the UN chief’s efforts to end Israel’s war and genocide in Gaza.
He said Iran will continue its efforts to help establish lasting stability and security in the region and end Israel’s war crimes in the Gaza Strip.
The Iranian foreign minister supported a move by the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas to accept the proposed truce plan, calling on the UN to play a more active role in ending the war and to hold a session in the presence of influential countries to discuss possible ways to help Palestine.
Guterres, for his part, commended Iran’s wise measures and positions on establishing peace and security in the region.
He said the UN has always pursued a firm stance on the importance of establishing a ceasefire and ending the war in Gaza as soon as possible.
He added that the UN will continue to exert pressure on Israel and hold constant consultations with the United States and other influential countries to establish an immediate ceasefire and end the war in Gaza and the region.
The UN chief reiterated that the world body will continue its efforts to open the Rafah and other border crossings as soon as possible.
Pointing to his constant talks with senior Egyptian, Qatari and Jordanian officials, Guterres called on all parties to focus their efforts on ways to stop the war and bloodshed in Gaza.
Source: Press TV
