Iranian President: Gaza Carnage Result of US Military Support for ‘israel’

President Rayeesi made the remarks in a phone call with Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre on Saturday.

“The fact that a child is killed in Gaza almost every 10 minutes is horrible and a clear example of a crime against humanity and genocide that should not remain unpunished,” Iran’s president stated.

He slammed the Western states for their silence over the Israeli butchering of Palestinians, and stressed that the military assistance provided by the US and a number of European countries for the Zionist regime reveals West’s double standards [towards human rights] and their complicity in Zionists’ atrocities against Gazans.

The Iranian president further said the massacre of 10,000 Palestinian people, including 4,000 children, is the outcome of dispatching weapons and ammunition by Washington to Tel Aviv.

“Hamas is the legal, elected and legitimate government of Gaza,” the president underlined, adding, “The war against Hamas is a war on democracy.”

Referring to at least 180 resolutions which has issued against the Zionist regime in the United Nations, Rayeesi pointed out the ineffectiveness of these resolutions in changing the Israeli behaviour and actions.

Praising Oslo’s stance on the need to put an end to the Gaza war and the murder of civilians in the blockaded enclave, the Iranian president stressed the necessity for international push to halt the Gaza siege and provide humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people.

Støre, for his part, highlighted the important and effective role of Iran in West Asia, and appreciates Tehran’s efforts to reduce tensions in the region.

The Norwegian premier said Oslo seeks interaction with Tehran to find new ways for resolving the Palestinian crisis, adding his country stresses the need for an immediate end to violence and clashes.

He underscored that Iran and Norway can work in using diplomatic channels to find ways for an immediate halt to clashes in occupied Palestine, an end to the siege on the Gaza Strip and sending relief to people in the coastal enclave.

Hours after the Hamas military operation against Israel in early October, American and European officials promised rock-solid and unwavering support to Tel Aviv. In recent weeks, President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and several others European leaders visited Tel Aviv to show their support for Israel.

Tehran says the Western leaders’ trips to the occupied territories are aimed at giving artificial respiration to dying Israel and demonstrate the US’ and Europe’s concerns over the downfall of the Zionist regime.

The US has pledged unwavering support for Israel as its military pummels Gaza with bombardment. Washington has announced it will provide Tel Aviv with everything it needed.

Washington has made major shows of force in the Middle East since early October, deploying two aircraft carrier strike groups to the Mediterranean, as well as an amphibious assault ship carrying 2,000 sailors and marines. US officials have claimed the moves were meant to deter outside actors from taking part in the Gaza war.

Iranian officials say the United States is waging a war on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip through Israel, and cautions that the current status in West Asia resembled a powder keg which could spiral out of control. Tehran warns that any Israeli “miscalculation” in proceeding with the policy of genocide and forced displacement of Palestinian people in Gaza will have “bitter consequences” for West Asia and the interests of warmongers.

On October 7, Hamas launched a multi-pronged surprise military operation via land, sea and air. The group announced it was in response to the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem and Israeli settlers’ growing violence against Palestinians. The attacks have so far killed more than 1,400 and injured over 5,000, according to Israeli officials. Hamas also announced it is holding between at least 200 and 250 hostages.

Following the multi-front attack by Hamas, Israel carried out heavy bombardment across the Gaza Strip, killing nearly 9,500 Palestinians, including at least 3,900 children and over 2,500 women, and wounding over 32,000 others, and levelling entire neighbourhoods.

Tel Aviv has ordered a “complete siege” of Gaza, saying it would halt its supply of electricity, food, water and fuel. Israel’s military has also ordered 1.1 million people living in Northern Gaza to evacuate their homes, amid signs it is set to ramp up its offensive.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Tel Aviv will not agree to a ceasefire with the Palestinian movement Hamas because it would mean surrender. He added Israel’s military operation in the Gaza Strip has entered its third stage which includes expanding ground operations in the enclave.

The bombing, as well as enforced displacement orders by the Israeli Army, has pushed 1.5 million people out of their homes.

The Gaza Health Ministry has confirmed that the healthcare system in the besieged territory has “totally collapsed due to the Israeli war”.

The UN agencies have warned that the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is “catastrophic”, calling for more international help as conditions deteriorate in the densely populated besieged enclave.

Iranian officials say the current status in West Asia resembled a powder keg which could spiral out of control. They caution that if diplomatic efforts to stop Israeli relentless bombardment and prevent a ground offensive on Gaza are unsuccessful, there is a risk of the conflict escalating uncontrollably, with multiple regional players joining the fight.

Gaza is one of the most densely populated places on Earth, where some 2 million people live in an area of 140 square miles. It has been almost completely cut off from the rest of the world for nearly 17 years. More than half of its population lives in poverty and is food insecure, with nearly 80% of its population relying on humanitarian assistance.

Tehran says the history of the apartheid regime is full of assassinations, massacre, torture and killing of Palestinian kids, and described Tel Aviv regime’s atrocities and massacre of Palestinian women and children as indicative of the destitute of Zionists. Iranian officials say the Tel Aviv regime has been struggling for more than 70 years to exit its identity crisis which has been mixed with genocide, plunder, forced displacement and scores of other inhumane moves.