Iran’s foreign minister meets Iraqi PM, talks Palestine developments

Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian of Iran has met with Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and discussed bilateral relations and the current developments in the occupied Palestinian territories.

The meeting took place in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, on Thursday amid Israel’s deadly onslaught on the besieged Gaza Strip that followed Operation Al-Aqsa Storm by the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas on October 7.

Amir-Abdollahian has traveled to Iraq as part of a regional tour that will also take him to Lebanon and Syria.

The Iranian foreign minister called for an end to Israeli war crimes against the Palestinians in Gaza.

Amir-Abdollahian said the Palestinian operation was a reaction to measures taken by the regime of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“It is no secret that we are facing war crimes by the Zionist regime against the Palestinian nation and ordinary citizens in Gaza. The US and some parties are also sending weapons to Israel and have allowed this criminal regime to brutally kill Palestinian citizens and civilians in Gaza. The Zionist regime has imposed a complete siege on Gaza, cut off its water, electricity and fuel, and prevents the delivery of food and medicine.”

“In such a situation, anything can happen and we can witness new events in the region… It is definitely necessary to stop the crimes of the Zionist regime in Gaza, and the role Iraq can play is paramount to this aim.”

The Iranian minister said the Islamic Republic welcomes and supports any initiative by Muslim countries meant to support the Palestinian nation.

Sudani, for his part, said that the Palestinian issue is not a political but an ideological issue and that supporting Palestine shows the conscience of Muslims and freedom-seeking people.

Iraq was not surprised by Operation Al-Aqsa Storm because the rights of the Palestinian people cannot be ignored or consigned to the oblivion by the normalization of ties with the Tel Aviv regime, he said.

It is natural for the Palestinian people to launch an Intifada (uprising) in a bid to uphold their rights as they have been deprived of their basic rights amid Israel’s non-adherence to UN resolutions.

Amir-Abdollahian has travelled to Iraq as part of regional tour that will also take him to Lebanon and Syria.

‘Iran supports inalienable rights of Palestinians’

Upon arrival in Baghdad, the top Iranian diplomat held talks with Iraq’s National Security Advisor Qasim al-Araji.

During the meeting, Amir-Abdollahian said Iran is aware of Iraq’s “good position” in support of Palestine.

He also noted that the Islamic Republic has always supported the inalienable rights of Palestinians.

“What happened in Operation Al-Aqsa Storm was a completely Palestinian action, a spontaneous move in reaction to the Zionists’ continuous and provocative crimes against the Palestinians as well as repeated incursions into the Al-Aqsa Mosque.”

“What is happening in Gaza by the Zionist regime is a clear example of war crimes and if it is not stopped, it can affect the entire region,” the Iranian minister said.

Amir-Abdollahian said the United States is sending weapons to Israel at a time when the regime is massacring the Palestinian people in Gaza.

The Israelis, he said, “cannot put Gaza under a complete siege, bombard civilians and commit war crimes while expecting that there will be no reaction to these crimes.”

Iran is ready to host an extraordinary ministerial meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), he said.

The foreign minister thanked the Iraqi government for implementing a security pact between the two neighboring countries and underlined the need for its full implementation.

On March 19, in Baghdad, Iran and Iraq signed a security agreement encompassing coordination in protecting the shared border.

Under the deal, the Iraqi government had promised to disarm terrorist and separatist groups based in the Kurdistan region by September 19, vacate their military barracks, and transfer them to the camps established by the Baghdad government.

Anti-Iran terrorists ‘disarmed’, pushed back ‘deep’ into Iraq: Baghdad

Iraqi authorities have expressed the country’s commitment to the security agreement with Iran, saying anti-Iran terrorist groups have been evacuated from the common borders between the two neighbors and pushed back deep inside Iraqi soil.

Araji, for his part, said the Iraqi government and factions adhere to the security agreement with Iran and consider it beneficial for both countries.

He said the crimes of Israel against women and children in Gaza are unacceptable and need to stop.

On Friday, a million-strong demonstration will be held in Baghdad in solidarity with Palestine, the Iraqi official informed the Iranian foreign minister.

Operation Al-Aqsa Storm led Israel to launch an onslaught on the Gaza Strip. Well over 1,400 Palestinians have been killed so far. More than 6,200 have been injured.

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