TEHRAN -- Raisi made the remarks in a meeting with Abdullah bin Saud al-Anazi, Saudi Arabia’s new ambassador to Tehran, while receiving his credentials on Tuesday.
The Iranian president drew attention to the 75-year history of oppression faced by the defenseless and innocent Palestinian people at the hands of the Zionist regime.
He said the absence of a united stance among Islamic nations had allowed the unlawful entity to persistently carry out killings and acts of aggression against the Palestinian population throughout the years.
“During the recent unprecedented crimes by the Zionist regime and its Western supporters in Gaza, a united stance by the Islamic world could have, in a more effective way, prevented the Zionist regime’s oppression and aggression as well as excessive demands by its Western supporters,” Raisi said.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Raisi emphasized the necessity of efforts by diplomatic apparatuses of both Iran and Saudi Arabia to take advantage of the two countries’ capacities to strengthen mutual relations and secure the interests of regional nations and the Muslim world.
The Iranian president also censured the presence of extra-regional countries in West Asia, saying their presence in the region not only fails to solve any problems but it is itself a cause of exacerbating the problems.
Saud al-Anazi, for his part, hailed Iran-Saudi Arabia ties as “very strong” and called for strengthening mutual ties and cooperation.
“The relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia are very strong as the ties and commonalities of the two nations and countries outweigh their differences,” he said.
The Saudi ambassador to Tehran underlined that the Islamic Republic has offered assistance to his country in many fields and issues, and expressed hope for an ever increasing improvement and expansion of relations and cooperation between the two countries.
On Monday, President Raisi strongly condemned the United States and other Western countries over their unbridled support for the Zionist regime.
In a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the president said, “What is happening in Gaza is a horrendous crime against defenseless and innocent women and children, which is being committed with the direct
and official support of the United States and other Western countries.”
Raisi touched on U.S. resident Joe Biden’s remarking during his visit to the occupied territories earlier this month, when he said, “I have long said: If Israel didn’t exist, we would have to invent it.”
“These remarks mean that the Americans are prepared to trample upon the blood of women and children, and the rubble of the Palestinian people’s homes in order to meet their [own] interests,” Raisi said.
Lavrov laid emphasis on Moscow’s commitment to implementation of all of the country’s agreements with Iran in economic, commercial, transport, energy, and cultural fields.
He said his participation in the meeting of the 3+3 regional platform was a manifestation of growing regional cooperation between Iran and Russia.