In an interview with Bloomberg Television published on Saturday, Amir-Abdollahian said the US’s unconditional support for Israel has escalated the regime’s war against the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas and the killing of civilians, especially women and children.
“If the Israelis do not stop the war and continue with the killing and crimes [against the Palestinians], the opening of new fronts will be unavoidable, and that will put Israel in a new situation that will make it regret its actions,” he added.
He called out the glaring double standard of the United States, saying, “The US is advising others to show self-restraint, but it has sided completely with Israel,” which is described by international law as an “occupying power.”
The top Iranian diplomat emphasized that the continuation of the US’s full support for Israel would spiral the situation out of control in the region, warning that it would be detrimental to Washington as well.
The Israeli regime has been waging a brutal war against Gaza since October 7, when Hamas and its fellow Gaza-based resistance movement, the Islamic Jihad, launched their biggest operation against the occupying entity in years.
The surprise Palestinian operation, dubbed Al-Aqsa Storm, came in response to the regime’s intensified crimes against the Palestinian people.
The death toll in Gaza since the start of the Israeli aggression has exceeded 8,000, 70 percent of whom are women and children.
'An entirely Palestinian decision'
Amir-Abdollahian also defended the “completely Palestinian decision” made by Hamas to launch Operation Al-Aqsa Storm.
“Hamas, Islamic Jihad and [Lebanon’s resistance movement] Hezbollah are groups that act in line with their own countries’ interests. They neither take orders from us nor do we give them orders,” he said.
In response to a question about ways to reduce tensions, the minister advised the US to act fairly.
Iran has always played a constructive role in the region and believes that tensions would be reduced through political approaches, he added.
Amir-Abdollahian reiterated that Israel’s occupation is the root cause of the ongoing crisis in the region and noted that Iran has never supported and will never support the killing of civilians anywhere.
The chief Iranian diplomat denied a report by The Wall Street Journal claiming that in the weeks leading up to Operation Al-Aqsa Storm, hundreds of Palestinian resistance fighters received specialized combat training in Iran.
“They themselves have forces to train. They produce the weapons and equipment they need. We have strong political bond with Hezbollah and resistance groups,” he responded.
The minister also rejected reports about the dispatch of new Iranian forces to Syria, Iraq and other countries in the region since the beginning of the ongoing war in Gaza but emphasized that Tehran would not be a bystander with regard to regional developments.
Iran will make decisions based on its own interests, national security and the regional situation, he added.
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