The remarks were made on Wednesday in the first phone call to take place between Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Mohammad Jamshidi, the Iranian chief executive's deputy chief of staff for political affairs, wrote on X social media platform, formerly known as Twitter.
The comments came after the Gaza Strip's Resistance movements initiated their biggest operation against the Israeli regime in years on Saturday in response to the regime's decades-long campaign of bloodshed and destruction against Palestinians.
Codenamed the al-Aqsa Storm Operation, the campaign killed at least 1,000 Zionist forces and settlers and led to many others among them being taken hostage by the Resistance groups.
Shedding further light on the contents of the conversation between Raeisi and bin Salman, Jamshidi said, "...the 2 agreed on the need to end war crimes against Palestine."
A while later, the Presidential office released a readout of the phone calls, quoting President Raeisi as saying that, "Based on the principle of the unity of the Islamic world and neighborliness, the Islamic Republic of Iran is committed to deepening and strengthening relations with Saudi Arabia, and we believe that the relations between the two sides have the potetial to help stabilize, strengthen and promote the security and stability of the region."
Referring to the common beliefs and interests shared by the two countries, especially regarding issues related to the Islamic world, the president added,
"Iran and Saudi Arabia as two key players at the current critical juncture must support the oppressed Muslim nation of Palestine."
Emphasizing the need for Islamic Ummah to defend the oppressed people of Palestine as a duty, Raeisi clarified, "One must explore for the root cause of the recent tensions in the continuous oppression and systematic discrimination on the part of the Zionist apartheid system against the oppressed people of Palestine, which of course failed to strengthen the determination of these people to defend their rights. Today we are witnessing the Resistance is dealing a heavy blow to the usurping Zionist regime."
Pointing to the Israeli cutting of water, food and fuel supply to Gaza as part of its total siege of the enclave, the Iranian president said that the Israeli regime is taking revenge for its big defeat in the face of the oppressed Palestinian nation, calling on Islamic countries to unite in defend of Palestine.
"Islamic countries have a duty to cooperate and unite in order to stop the Zionists crimes against the Palestinians as soon as possible. Iran and Saudi Arabia can help ensure the legal rights of Palestinians and stop the aggression and crimes of the Zionist regime," he underscored.
Raisi considered the current situation of the region to be the result of repeated miscalculations on the part of the Western countries, led by the United States, and stated that "the only principled solution to the Palestinian problem, as the main problem of the region, is to pay attention to the rights of the oppressed people of this land, based on and according to the proposal of the Republic Islamic Iran for all Palestinians to determine their fate in a democratic process and in a free and fair election."
Stating that the recent developments showed that no solution can resolve this problem without paying attention to the rights of the Palestinian people, the president noted that "no doubt that the recent crimes of the Zionists are carried out with the green light of the supporters of this regime. However, these actions not only will not result in obtaining their goals by them (western countries and the Zionist regime) but will cause the expansion and escalation of insecurity in the region and the world."
In the telephone conversation, the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia praised the mutual efforts of the two countries to strengthen stability in the region, especially in light of the recent developments in Palestine, and said that "the revival of bilateral relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia is the beginning of the process of cooperation and integration, and I am pleased that today, good efforts are being made towards the development of bilateral relations."
Mohammed bin Salman described the recent events in Gaza as painful and dangerous, adding, "What is happening concerning the violation of Palestinian rights can lead to the escalation and development of insecurity in other regions of the world, including Western countries."
The Saudi crown prince further pointed out that, "Today everyone, including the Western countries, have well understood that failure to resolve the Palestinian issue can cause many problems for themselves," He added that, "Tehran-Riyadh cooperation can play an effective role in stopping the conflicts as quickly as possible and working on a just solution for the basic resolving of the Palestinian issue."
The Israeli regime has responded to the Palestinian operation by waging a "long" war against Gaza, for which it has called up an unprecedented 300,000 reservists.
The Israeli regime's war has killed at least 1,100 Palestinians, including 326 children, and injured 5,339 others.
The military campaign has seen the regime leveling entire districts and featured its use of banned white phosphorous munitions against densely populated neighborhoods.
Earlier this week, Israeli Minister for Military Affairs Yoav Gallant announced a "total blockade" to stop food and fuel from reaching Gaza, home to 2.3 million people.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday said he was "deeply distressed" by Israel's announcement of the complete siege.
"The humanitarian situation in Gaza was extremely dire before these hostilities; now it will only deteriorate exponentially," Guterres said, according to Press TV report.
KI/MP/5909474;PressTV
Your Comment