Statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs about the Gaza Strip

Statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran on the Harsh Situation in the Gaza Strip

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, expressing deep concern over the escalation of the humanitarian disaster caused by the horrific crimes of the Zionist regime in the Gaza Strip, strongly condemns the continued killing of Palestinians while depriving the defenseless people of this strip of land of food, water, medicine and other basic necessities, and calls for immediate, effective and decisive action by the international community and regional countries to stop the genocide and reduce the pain and suffering of the oppressed Palestinian people.

The continued inhumane siege of Gaza and the brutal bombing of refugee shelters, as well as the transformation of humanitarian aid distribution points into traps for targeting and mass killing of hungry and thirsty people, testify to the severity of the cruelty and callousness of the Israeli apartheid regime and its supporters.

 

The killing of over a thousand innocent people in food lines and the death of over 600 from starvation are the height of the Zionist regime's brutality and clear examples of war crimes and genocide. This is while 90% of Gaza's area has become uninhabitable and 1.2 million people in Gaza are at risk of death due to extreme hunger.

The UN Security Council's inability to fulfill its legal responsibility towards the occupying regime's aggressions and crimes, due to the constant obstruction by the United States, has emboldened this regime and normalized evil. The comprehensive military, economic, and political support from the United States and some European countries, particularly Germany, for this regime has not only created a kind of absolute immunity for it but has also paved the way for the commission of more severe crimes in line with the ethnic cleansing and forced displacement of Palestinians.

Supporters and apologists for the Zionist regime, especially the United States, which, in addition to providing military aid and political support, uses all its tools to prevent the Zionist regime from being held accountable and punished, are considered partners in the Zionist regime's crimes and must be held responsible.

Given the complete collapse of the healthcare system in Gaza and the occupiers' obstruction of food and medical aid entering the Strip over the past five months, Gaza is facing a full-blown humanitarian disaster. The plan to commit genocide against the Palestinian people is being carried out in its most horrific form by the most brutal criminals. Every government and all international bodies and organizations with humanitarian missions, including the Human Rights Council, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the World Health Organization, and UNICEF, have a legal and moral responsibility to take urgent and effective action to stop the crimes of the Zionist regime and end the suffering of the Palestinian people. This legal and moral responsibility stems from the United Nations Charter, international humanitarian law, particularly the four 1949 Geneva Conventions and their additional protocols, and the Convention on the Prevention of Genocide, which emphasizes the obligation of all states to ensure compliance with humanitarian rules and prevent genocide.

The moral and religious duty of the countries in the region and Islamic countries is also clear. These countries must use all their capacities, including within the framework of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the United Nations, to force the supporters of the Zionist regime, especially the United States, to stop the regime's crimes. They must also provide the necessary conditions for the immediate dispatch of essential aid, particularly water, food, and medicine, to the Palestinian people, and take action to hold the Zionist criminals accountable, prosecute, and punish them.

The Islamic Republic of Iran, while emphasizing its principled and international law-based position in support of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, and recalling the legitimacy of the Palestinian people's struggle for liberation from the yoke of the Zionist regime's colonial occupation and apartheid, emphasizes the necessity of strengthening solidarity among all free and Muslim countries and nations to stop colonial genocide in occupied Palestine.