TEHRAN-Israel is the real terrorist despite calling the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas a terrorist group, said Cuban ambassador to Iran.

Alberto Gonzalez Casals made the remarks at the opening ceremony of the Latin America Cartoon and Caricature Exhibition at the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art (TMoCA) on Thursday, IRNA reported on Friday.

Condemned the Zionist regime’s ongoing bombardment and blockade of the Gaza Strip, he said: “What is happening in Palestine is a crime. While we are here, people are martyred in Palestine and they don't even have the minimum facilities.”

Hamas launched Operation al-Aqsa Storm into the occupied territories on October 7 in response to intensified crimes by Israeli forces and settlers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. In response, the Zionist regime waged an all-out war on Gaza, killing more than 8,700 people, about half of them children, and wounding tens of thousands in the tightly besieged enclave.

Casals also said he was honored to be in the exhibition where “we had the chance to have some of the best Latin American artists present.”

Showcasing works from 15 countries in Latin America, the cartoon and caricature exhibition opened November 11 with the presence of art directors and Iranian and foreign artists in Tehran.

Explaining about the background of cooperation with global artists, Masoud Shojaei Tabatabai, the secretary of the exhibition, said: “The history of extensive and continuous interaction with artists of the world, including Latin America, goes back to the 1st Tehran Cartoon Biennial in 1992. During the next three decades, a deep cultural and artistic connection was established between Iran and Latin American countries, which led to the organization of this global event in Tehran.”

Also speaking at the ceremony, the deputy director of the Art Bureau said: “The Latin American artists whose works are displayed at this exhibition are among the best cartoonists and caricaturists in the world.”

“They have, with their delicate art, offered us the most bitter issues in an artistic way,” Seyyed Amir Javid added.

Works by artists from Argentina, Ecuador, Brazil, Honduras, Mexico, Cuba, Chile, Costa Rica, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela, and Nicaragua are on display until November 19 at the TMoCA, adjacent to Laleh Park, North Kargar Ave.

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