GAZA STRIP (Dispatches) -- Palestinian resistance groups have hailed remarks by Mohsen Rezaei, Iran’s newly appointed secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), calling for an end to the wars in Gaza and Lebanon and linking the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to a comprehensive regional ceasefire.
The Palestinian Resistance Committees and Hamas both praised Rezaei’s position, saying an end to the ongoing conflicts would serve the interests of the region’s peoples and help restore security and stability.
Rezaei, a veteran Iranian military commander who led the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) from 1981 to 1997, was appointed SNSC secretary on August 10. He has remained a prominent figure in Iran’s security and political establishment since leaving the IRGC and was also appointed as Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei’s representative on the security council.
In remarks concerning the Strait of Hormuz, Rezaei said Iran would keep the strategic waterway closed until the United States ends the war and blockade against Iran, releases Tehran’s frozen assets and accepts a region-wide ceasefire, including in Gaza and Lebanon.
The Palestinian Resistance Committees said Rezaei’s remarks reaffirmed Iran’s support for Palestine and Lebanon and its opposition to U.S.-Israeli aggression. The group warned that continued Israeli military operations would further destabilize the region, weaken its countries and risk drawing additional states into a wider cycle of war.
The group also called on governments, civil society organizations, student and professional unions, and other international forces to take action against Israel’s attacks, forced displacement, blockade and starvation in Gaza.
Hamas likewise endorsed Rezaei’s call. Basem Naim, head of the movement’s Office of Arab and Islamic Relations, said halting the wars is in the interests of the region and its peoples, warning that continued hostilities will further destabilize West Asia and serve Israel’s strategic objectives.
Iran has repeatedly maintained that any agreement with Washington must address the regional conflicts as well as Tehran’s demands concerning sanctions, the blockade and frozen Iranian assets.