TEHRAN — The Iranian Foreign Ministry on Friday reacted to the atrocities of the Israeli regime in al-Aqsa Mosque compound in al-Quds (Jerusalem), strongly condemning the Israelis’ shameless desecration of the sacred places in Palestine during the holy month of Ramadan and their raid on fasting worshippers in the holy mosque.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh warned against the continuation of brutal and terrorist acts of the occupiers in in al-Quds and remaining occupied Palestine. 

Israeli forces injured at least 15 Palestinian worshippers inside al-Aqsa mosque compound on Friday. It was the latest flareup in a recent upsurge of violence that has raised fears of a slide back to wider conflict.

The crimes of Zionists against the oppressed people of Palestine indicate the regime’s increasing weakness which it seeks to cover up with a show of its hollow power in the face of a number of defenseless worshippers, the spokesman said. 

Khatibzadeh added that these crimes which constitute a gross violation of international law and human rights prove more than ever that the treacherous move by heads of state of some Islamic countries to normalize ties with this fake regime will not result in a change of behavior by Tel Aviv which is by nature inclined to shed blood and create crises.

On the contrary, he added, the Israeli regime has escalated its atrocities against Palestinians because heads of state of some Islamic and Arab countries betrayed the Palestinian cause so that “we are witnessing escalating violence by this apartheid and racist regime,” the Foreign Ministry website reported.

The diplomat then invited all governments and international organizations to support the people of Palestine and prevent the continuation of crimes by the Zionists in Palestine and called for popular movement by Muslim nations in support of al-Aqsa Mosque.

Khatibzadeh concluded by saying that the Zionist regime and its regional and international backers are responsible for the consequences of the acts of the Zionists in al-Quds and Palestine. He also called for a rapid and immediate response by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and Muslim countries in support of al-Aqsa Mosque.