ANKARA (Dispatches) --
Iranian Foreign Minister Hussein Amir-Abdollahian has called on Muslim nations to take “immediate and effective” action to put an end to Israeli war crimes in the Gaza Strip and its blockade on the small territory in a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan here.
Amir-Abdollahian called for sending humanitarian aid to the war-stricken coastal strip and hailed Erdogan’s support for Gaza as well as recent massive pro-Palestine rallies held across Turkey.
The Iranian minister also called for an emergency meeting of heads of Muslim and Arab countries on the situation in Gaza.
Amir-Abdollahian said the war against the defenseless Palestinians could any moment spread to other parts of the region, stressing that the responsibility for that would rest with the U.S. government and the Zionist regime.
The Iranian minister said Palestinian resistance forces have informed Iran that they possess the military capabilities needed for a long battle with the regime.
Amir-Abdollahian pointed to U.S. demand that countries show restraint over the situation in Gaza, saying the U.S. is not in a place to call for calm as it directly participates in the planning of Israel’s brutal attacks on Palestinians.
“The U.S., as a party to the war on Gaza, is in no position to urge other sides to show restraint,” he said.
The Turkish president, for his part, said all should work to create mechanisms aimed at protecting the security of the Palestinian people.
He said Turkey’s current priority is to help stop attacks on Gaza, remove the blockade and send humanitarian aid to Palestinians trapped in the strip.
Amir-Abdollahian traveled to Qatar before visiting Turkey to discuss the Gaza war and ways to put pressure on Israel to end the bloodshed.
“If the war against the defenseless people of Gaza is not stopped immediately, there is a risk of expanding the scope of war and conflict in the region at any moment,” Amirabdollahian said in remarks carried by the Iranian foreign ministry.
“It is necessary for Islamic countries to take immediate and effective action to end the war crimes of the Zionist regime, lift the siege of Gaza and send humanitarian aid, and in this regard, the Islamic Republic of Iran emphasizes the necessity of holding an urgent meeting of heads of Islamic and Arab countries,” he said.