Iranian President calls on Islamic countries to arm Palestinians

The countries of the Islamic world must arm the Palestinians to fight Israel if the conflict in the Gaza Strip continues, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi believes. He made this call at an extraordinary joint summit of the League of Arab States (LAS) and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which was held in Riyadh.

“If the war crimes of the Zionist regime continue and the American administration does not stop waging this unequal war, Islamic countries must help the Palestinian people by arming them to fight the occupation,” – said he (quote from TASS).

According to Raisi, the only solution to the conflict may be the creation of a Palestinian state from the “river to the sea.” He called on the summit participants to take a clear position and choose which side they are on, writes also The Times of Israel. The Iranian president spoke at the summit about the need to impose sanctions against Israel, bring charges against the Jewish state and the United States in court in The Hague and attract international inspectors to Israeli nuclear facilities. Islamic governments must recognize the army of Israel’s “occupying and aggressor regime” as a terrorist organization, he added.

Iranian Defense Minister Mohammad Reza Ashtiani previously warned The US says there will be a “strong blow” if Washington does not ensure a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. At the end of October, Raisi on the social network X accused Israel of crossing red lines and warned of retaliatory measures. He emphasized that Washington asks Iran “to do nothing, but continues to provide broad support to Israel.”

In Iran, they also talked about the possibility of the emergence of “new battle fronts” in the event of an Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, which could lead to “the fall of Israeli power and statehood.” The Minister of Economy and Industry of the Jewish State, Neal Barkat, in turn, threatened to strike Iran if the Hezbollah group, supported by the Islamic Republic, opens a “second front.” The Iranian Foreign Ministry warned that if the United States strikes Iran and its associated infrastructure, the response would “beyond all imagination.” Tehran “has defended the rights of Palestinians for 30 years and will continue to do so,” the department noted.