President Raisi Calls for Emergency OIC Session

Date: 07 April 2023 - 21:52

News ID: ۱۱۳۷۶۹

TEHRAN -- Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi has called for an emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to discuss the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, where Zionist forces violently stormed al-Aqsa Mosque overnight, fired stun grenades and attacked Palestinian worshipers.
During a telephone conversation with his Indonesian counterpart Joko Widodo on Thursday, Raisi demanded that the 57-member body convene an emergency meeting in order to arrive at a joint decision on how to defend the rights of innocent Palestinians and confront Israeli crimes and atrocities.
Raisi described Palestine as the beating heart of the Muslim world, stressing that “support for the rights of the Palestinian nation and fight against the Zionist regime constitute an underlying principle of the Muslim Ummah.”
“The unity of the Muslim world remains a necessity so as to confront the aggression and crimes by the Zionist regime,” he said.
Raisi said the Muslim world, as an influential bloc within global equations, needs more integration, adding Iran welcomes any initiative aimed at enhancement of relations among Muslim countries.
Widodo, for his part, welcomed his Iranian counterpart’s call for an emergency meeting of the OIC on Palestine, hoping that the event could further promote ties among Muslim states.
The two presidents also discussed relations between Tehran and Jakarta, and underlined the need for further development of the ties.
Shortly after the call, the General Secretariat of the OIC said it will hold an emergency, open-ended meeting of the Executive Committee

at the level of Permanent Representatives, on Saturday at the headquarters of the General Secretariat in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has said he was “shocked and appalled” by images of Zionist forces beating people at Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Stephane Dujarric said Guterres viewed images of the “violence and beating” within the holy site, and found it more distressing because it came “at a time of a calendar which is holy to Jews, Christians and Muslims that should be a time for peace and nonviolence.”

“Places of worship should only be used for peaceful religious observances,” he said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hussein Amir-Abdollahian condemned the desecration of Al-Aqsa Mosque, saying that the Zionists are confused by the wave of convergence in the Islamic world.

“The desecration of Al-Aqsa Mosque by Israeli forces and their night raid on worshipers of the holy site created painful scenes that are the result of the behavior of human rights advocates who turn a blind eye to Zionism’s crimes,” Amir-Abdollahian tweeted on Thursday.

“The Zionists are confused by the wave of convergence in the Muslim world and the prospect of internal collapse,” he added.

The Arab League called on the UN Security Council to intervene to halt Israeli “crimes” at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.