Israel committed ‘political suicide’ by Gaza onslaught: Iran defense minister

Israel has committed “political suicide” by its brutal attacks on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, says Iran’s Defense Minister Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Ashtiani.

Speaking in a phone call with Syrian Defense Minister Ali Mahmoud Abbas on Monday, Ashtiani denounced Israel’s relentless airstrikes on Gaza as a “violation of all rules of war and human rights.”

They hurt the free consciences of all Muslim nations and awakened the world to the crimes of the bloodthirsty regime, he said.

Israel waged the war on Gaza on October 7 after the Gaza-based Palestinian resistance groups launched Operation Al-Aqsa Storm, a surprise attack into the occupied territories in response to the Israeli regime’s intensified crimes against the Palestinian people.

According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, the Israeli onslaught on Gaza has so far killed over 4,740 Palestinians, including more than 1,900 children.

Ashtiani said Israel knows no boundaries in its acts of aggression against the people of Gaza, which, he maintained, have been greenlit and supported by the United States and its Western allies.

He also lauded the great achievements reached by Palestinian fighters during the Operation Al-Aqsa Storm, saying they exposed the true nature of the “Zionist regime” to the world.

The Israeli regime is trying to avenge its unprecedented operational and intelligence failure by killing innocent Palestinian children and people, he said.

The continuation of Gaza’s blockade and severe restrictions as well as acts of obstruction in the way of the dispatch of humanitarian aid to the strip would lead to a humanitarian catastrophe, the Iranian defense minister warned.

He also condemned Israel’s deadly airstrikes on Syria’s two main airports in the cities of Damascus and Aleppo, saying the regime was trying in vain to convey the message that it is capable of giving a decisive response on all fronts.

However, the regime is more fragile and fake than perceived, Iran’s defense minister asserted.

Referring to a phone conversation he had with his Iraqi counterpart, Thabet al-Abbas, on Friday, Ashtiani said the firm opposition of the Syrian and Iraqi governments to normalization of ties with Israel can serve as a model for those Arab states that seek to normalize ties with the Tel Aviv regime.

Iran defense chief warns of Israel's plan to launch ground offensive in Gaza

The Iranian defense minister warns a potential Israeli ground offensive in Gaza will complicate the situation in the region.

The Syrian defense minister, for his part, hailed Iran’s special attention to issues pertaining to Syria and the resistance front, saying the blood of the Palestinian martyrs would definitely disgrace the Zionists.

Mahmoud Abbas argued that Israel’s attacks on Aleppo and Damascus airports exposed the regime’s internal weaknesses.

He noted that the Israeli aggression on Gaza exposed the vicious nature of the regime’s supporters, prompting all Arab and Muslim nations, as well as the free people of the world, to stand with the Palestinian people.

This promises the collapse of the criminals and the beginning of a great development, which is the defeat of the Zionist regime, the Syrian defense minister said.

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