TEHRAN – Iran has strongly condemned the desecration of Al-Aqsa Mosque by far-right Zionist minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, saying any act of aggression against the holy site will face a firm response from the Muslim world.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani made the remarks following Ben-Gvir’s contentious visit to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the occupied Old City of Al-Quds earlier in the day.
Kanaani said any desecration of the holy sites in the occupied Palestinian territories, including Al-Aqsa, is a violation of international law and an insult to the values and sanctities of Muslims across the world.
The spokesman further warned against the provocative actions of the Zionist regime’s new far-right cabinet.
He praised the resistance of Palestinians, stressing that the Palestinian cause of liberation from the Israeli occupation is the first priority for the Muslim world.
Kanaani further called on the freedom-seeking people in the world, particularly the Muslim countries, to unite in order to defend Al-Quds and confront the occupying regime’s acts of aggression.
The Iranian official also urged international organizations to fulfill their legal duty and stop the Zionist regime’s brutal acts of aggression against Palestinians and the Muslims’ holy sites.
On Tuesday, Ben-Gvir entered the holy site of Al-Aqsa Mosque through the Moroccan Gate, also known as the Mughrabi Gate, in a move that threatens a backlash from Palestinians who have labeled the act an “unprecedented provocation,” Palestine’s official Wafa news agency reported.
Ben-Gvir was sworn in minister of “security” last week, as part of the occupying regime’s new far-right cabinet, led by Benjamin Netanyahu.
Hardline Israeli legislators and extremist settlers regularly storm the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the occupied city, a provocative move that infuriates Palestinians. Such mass settler break-ins almost always take place at the behest of Tel Aviv-backed temple groups and under the auspices of the Israeli police in al-Quds.
The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, which sits just above the Western Wall plaza, houses both the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque.