Iran, Syria share ‘practical approach’ in supporting Palestinians

Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian says Iran and Syria share a “practical approach” in supporting the Palestinians in the months-long Israeli war on the besieged Gaza Strip.

The occupying regime will not be able to continue with its aggression without backing from the United States, the Iranian minister has said.

Amir-Abdollahian made the statement in a meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the capital Damascus on Sunday, which took place as part of the second leg of his regional tour after visiting Lebanon.

The two officials discussed Tehran-Damascus relations as well as regional and international issues of concern, including the Israeli war on Gaza.

Amir-Abdollahian said Gaza is the “main issue” not only at the regional but also at the international level, adding that Iran and Syria have a “common position,” and “practical approach,” in supporting the Palestinians as the two sides have over the past four months continued their consultations regarding the issue.

Pointing to Iran’s extensive diplomatic efforts to support the Palestinian people and stop the Israeli war, Amir-Abdollahian said the Islamic Republic has always declared its firm position on Palestine and emphasized that the war is not a solution and the genocide of the Palestinians must immediately end.

“If the US is true to its claim that it does not seek to expand the scope of war in the region, it should stop backing the Zionist regime, and if the US stops supporting the Zionist regime, the regime will not be able to continue the war even for one day,” the top Iranian diplomat stated.

Amir-Abdollahian praised the resistance in Palestine as “strong and powerful” and said, “Those who intended to destroy Hamas have now included the resistance movement as a reality in their political strategies and as a negotiating party in the ceasefire talks.”

The Iranian foreign minister also said Syria is on the front line of supporting the Palestinians and their cause.

Assad, for his part, said the Israeli regime and the West are currently at an impasse over the war in Gaza and that the Israeli escalation in Palestine, Syria and Lebanon is nothing but a Western-led attempt to get the illegal entity out of the impasse and save the regime.

“It is our duty to stand to the utmost of our ability alongside the Palestinian people because what these people achieved during the recent Israeli aggression on Gaza has not been achieved since the Palestinian issue arose decades ago,” the Syrian president said.

Pointing to the Israeli regime’s planned invasion of the southern city of Rafah in Gaza, Assad said, “The Zionist entity is not satisfied with the horrific amount of crimes it has committed in the current campaign against Gaza, and over the past years of bloodshed, and therefore it is preparing to bring to a head its crimes in the city of Rafah, while the relevant international institutions stand by.”

During the meeting, the Syrian president congratulated Iran’s Leader, government and nation on the 45th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, and voiced his satisfaction with the growing relations between the two countries in various fields.

Appreciating Iran’s support for Syria and its stability and security, Assad said, “What the Islamic Republic of Iran has done in the past four months in support of Palestine has once again proved to the world that Iran does not just talk but also acts.”

He also underlined that what happened in Palestine in recent months strengthened the spirit of resistance in the Arab world.

Since the start of the war, Israel has killed more than 27,900 Palestinians in Gaza. More than 67,400 have also been injured.

At the head of a political delegation, Amir-Abdollahian arrived in Lebanon on Friday and is scheduled to depart for Qatar after the ongoing visit to Syria.

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