TEHRAN- The Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, asserts that the Israeli attack on Gaza is being directly orchestrated by the United States and that the regime in Tel Aviv is the true loser of the onslaught against the beleaguered strip.

The Leader made the remarks on Monday during a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani in Tehran. 

The Leader stated that the Americans are unquestionably implicated in the Israeli regime’s atrocities in Gaza.

“Since the very first days of the Zionist regime’s attacks, all the evidence and indications show the direct involvement of the Americans in running the war,” he added.

Ayatollah Khamenei also stated that as the conflict continues, the motivations for the United States’ direct involvement in spearheading Israel’s crimes would become increasingly clear.

The Leader declared that without military and political support from the U.S., the Israeli regime would not be able to carry on with the war.

He added the Israeli regime is the “main loser” of the current conflict despite the slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza because it has failed to rebuild its damaged reputation and would never be able to do so.

Ayatollah Khamenei also praised the Iraqi government’s “good and strong” attitude in support of the Palestinian people in Gaza, urging the Muslim world to increase political pressure on the U.S. and Israel to cease the slaughter of civilians in the besieged territory.

Ayatollah Khamenei added that Iraq, as a key player in the region, could play a unique role in this respect, forming a new front in the Arab and Muslim worlds.

Iran and Iraq, according to Ayatollah Khamenei, can play an effective role in this respect by increasing bilateral collaboration.

Elsewhere in his remarks, the Leader complimented Tehran and Baghdad’s economic and security cooperation and encouraged both parties to keep up the same rate of advancement.

“Collective revenge”

For his part, the prime minister of Iraq declared that Hamas’ Operation Al-Aqsa Storm was a valiant endeavor that made the entire world’s free people proud.

Sudani bemoaned the savage Israeli attacks in Gaza, calling it a “collective revenge” against the local populace.

He maintained that the Iraqi government has made significant political strides to stop Israel’s atrocities in Gaza and to provide food and medicine to its citizens.

Additionally, Sudani reaffirmed Iraq’s unwavering commitment to fostering better ties with Iran and carrying out bilateral agreements.

In the midst of the Israeli war on Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas political bureau chief, met with Ayatollah Khamenei in Tehran. 

The meeting in the middle of the war is highly important.

According to the Beirut-based TV channel Al Mayadeen, Osama Hamdan, the chief representative of Hamas in Lebanon and a member of its politburo, stated on Saturday that Haniyeh visited Tehran “a couple of days ago” and “met and talked with” Ayatollah Khamenei.

Iran and Iraq demand ceasefire in Gaza 

At a joint press conference with the Iraqi premier on Monday, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi noted that the Israeli regime, which is largely backed by the U.S. and several European nations, is committing “genocide” in Palestine, particularly against children.

“We believe that the Israeli bombardments against Gaza must be stopped as soon as possible and a ceasefire must be established,” Raisi said.

Raisi went on to underscore the need to send aid to the “oppressed” yet “powerful” people of Gaza as soon as possible.

The president added that Tehran cooperates with and supports any measure by the Muslim, regional and international countries aimed at deterring the Israeli regime and the U.S. from massacring the innocent people of Gaza.

Raisi noted that Tehran and Baghdad share a common position on the Palestinian issue.

The Iranian president rejected as “sheer lie” the U.S. allegations about sending aid to Gaza and announcing a ceasefire in the war-stricken strip, saying such claims do not match the Americans’ actions.

“Unfortunately, the U.S. provides arms, intelligence and financial aid to the Zionist regime to brutally kill the Palestinian people and it actually encourages the Israeli regime,” he stressed. 

Raisi also said that the U.S. vetoed a draft resolution proposed by Brazil to the United Nations Security Council for humanitarian pauses in the war on the blockaded Palestinian territory.

This would actually pave the way for the Israeli regime to carry out more acts of murder, he added.

The president emphasized that the U.S. and other countries that support Israel are complicit in all the regime’s crimes.

Raisi added the battle of the resistance front against Israel and the defeat that it has inflicted on the regime have crumbled the Israeli regime.

He went on to say that Muslim nations and those regional and global countries that believe in God cannot justify their silence vis-à-vis the ongoing crimes against the Palestinian people.

“Organized genocide”

For his part, Sudani held the Operation Al-Aqsa Storm and said that it was the outcome of Israel’s years of criminal policies against the oppressed people of Palestine which included the killing of civilians, forced displacement, illegal settlement and the desecration of al-Aqsa Mosque.

The Israeli regime has held the Gazan people inside a prison for many years while the international community has failed to implement its commitments and obligations in practice regarding the crisis in Gaza, the prime minister added.

He emphasized that those who seek to prevent the spillover of the war must push the Israeli regime to stop its crime and “organized genocide” of Palestinians in Gaza.

Sudani said the sides that are carrying out acts of aggression against the people of Gazan must prevent a wider war in the region.

The premier added that Iran and Iraq seek to adopt a close stance on ways to exert pressure on influential countries to stop the bombing of Gaza and the killing of the Palestinian people as soon as possible.