TEHRAN- Iran’s President, Ebrahim Raisi, has emphasized that Hamas is the legitimate government of the Gaza Strip and that fighting the Palestinian resistance movement is akin to fighting a war against democracy.

“Hamas is the legal, elected and legitimate government of Gaza… and the war against Hamas is a war on democracy,” Raisi said in a phone call with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre on Saturday night.

Raisi also praised Oslo’s stance on the necessity of an instant stop to Israel’s killing of civilians in Gaza and international efforts to break the siege on the coastal enclave and provide aid to its 2.3 million inhabitants.

In addition, he said that Iran is willing to work with the Norwegian Justice Ministry to look into the crimes that Israel has committed in Gaza, emphasizing that the regime’s “war crimes” and the U.S.’s backing for them should not go unpunished.

Raisi pointed out that the large arms and equipment transfers by the U.S. to the Zionist regime are to blame for the nearly 10,000 deaths in Gaza, including 4,000 children.

“The fact that a child is killed in Gaza almost every 10 minutes is horrible and a clear example of ‘crime against humanity and genocide’. The disgusting silence of the U.S. and some European countries along with their armed support for the Zionist regime prove the West’s double standards and its obvious partnership in the Zionists’ crimes,” he continued.

The head of Iran’s government also criticized the failure of 180 UN resolutions to change Israel’s behaviors.

He went on to say that the Islamic Republic has proposed a UN-registered democratic and equitable solution to the Palestinian issue based on the concept of one vote for every Palestinian.

The Norwegian prime minister, for his part, stated that his country recognizes Iran’s significant and successful role in the region.

In addition, he praised Tehran’s efforts to ease tensions in the region and advocated for talks with the Islamic Republic to settle the Palestine dispute.

He underlined that Iran and Norway could confer and work together through diplomatic channels to find a solution that would put an immediate stop to the war, relieve the closure on Gaza, and deliver humanitarian supplies to its people.

After Hamas launched Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the occupying regime on October 7, Israel launched a brutal battle on the blockaded Gaza Strip.

Additionally, it has established a complete siege on the coastal sliver, cutting off water, food, medicine, fuel, and electricity to its more than 2.3 million population.