Iran’s interim FM: Occupation of Palestine root cause of insecurity in West Asia

Iran’s interim Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani says instability and insecurity in West Asia are deeply rooted in the Israeli regime’s occupation of Palestinian territories.

Bagheri Kani made the remarks in a meeting with foreign ambassadors and heads of office of international organizations in Tehran on Monday.

“Restoration of sustainable security and stability in the West Asia region requires an end to occupation. The occupation of Palestine is the root cause of continued insecurity and warfare in the region.

“Over the past months, all targets struck by the occupying regime in Gaza have been exclusively civilians. Has a tank, a warplane or a Palestinian military base ever been targeted? Is there any other target in the [coastal] sliver other than women, children, the elderly and innocent people?” the top Iranian diplomat said.

He said indifference to injustice brings about inaction and empathy, and inaction could get a criminal more dangerous. This will result in the normality of crimes after a short while.

“We all have a moral duty and responsibility not to remain silent in the face of one of the worst evils left behind from the last century, that is, the bloody occupation and colonization of Palestinian lands and the ongoing displacement and genocide of a nation,” the Iranian diplomat said.

‘Crushing response’: IRGC says Israel born in ‘cradle of terror’; to be buried in miscalculations

The IRGC chief commander calls the Israeli regime an entity born out of terrorism that will gradually fall prey to its own transgressions.

“The shameful tragedy that has been going on in occupied Palestine over the last 10 months is not only the upshot of the cruelty and arrogance of an apartheid occupying entity, but also the result of the impunity of criminals who, in any case, rely on the unqualified support of the United States and some other Western countries.”

The interim foreign minister stated that the occupying Israeli regime’s crime of assassinating Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh is surely part of a genocidal scenario against Palestinians.

“Doubtless Iran holds the criminal gang ruling the occupied Palestinian territories responsible for the crime,” he said.

Bagheri Kani went on to say that tolerance towards Israeli terrorist acts invalidates all the fundamentals and norms of a peaceful international life as well as the rules governing international relations in times of war and conflict.

“The cowardly assassination of Ismail Haniyeh is a clear example of arbitrary killing and gross violation of human rights. Such aggression cannot go unanswered. Iran's response will be definite and decisive,” he said.

“Unfortunately, the UN Security Council has failed to fulfill its duties. The reason is clear: the unconditional support of the United States, Britain and France to the Israeli regime, which is one of the main obstacles to the efficiency of the United Nations over the past 80 years in relation to the occupation of Palestine,” Bagheri Kani said.

Human conscience and public opinion will eventually force sponsors of Israel to surrender to the public demand for holding the regime to account for crimes committed against oppressed Palestinians, he said.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk