TEHRAN – During his three-day visit to Geneva, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian met with different officials and repeated calls to stop the tragedy in Gaza.

He highlighted the devastating role of the U. S. and other Western powers in exacerbating the conflict and hereby ignoring their moral and legal obligations.

Amir Abdollahian who had travelled to Switzerland on Monday to participate in the 52nd session of the UN Human Rights Council, took it upon himself to stress the critical moment to demonstrate the practical applicability and credibility of international humanitarian law. During his back-to-back meetings with different officials and interviews with media representatives, he emphasized the collective duty and responsibility of the international community to prevent further catastrophe in Gaza. 

‘Palestinian resistance prototype of liberation movement’

In the speech that the foreign minister conducted at the UN council, Amir Abdollahian referenced an amendment protocol to the Geneva Conventions concerning the protection of civilian victims of international wars. This protocol categorizes armed struggle for self-determination by people under occupation as international armed conflicts. This perspective, as he observed, classifies the Palestinian resistance as a liberation movement rather than a terrorist group.

Pointing to the attacks on Gaza, the foreign minister reported that the volume of bombs and explosives used in the ongoing war against Gazans exceeds three times the explosive power of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, during WWII.

In a commentary on November 15, Middle East Eye said Israel has dropped more than 18,000 tons of bombs on Gaza so far, killing more than 11,000 Palestinians - mostly women, children and elderly people - in relentless air strikes that started on October 7.

Amir Abdollahian called the casualty figures “staggering,” that 75% of whom are children and women. “The destruction of half of besieged Gaza, coupled with a 16-year economic siege, poses a significant humanitarian and problem,” he added.

The minister condemned the occupying regime's gross violations of international human rights, describing the acts as “war crimes”, “genocide”, and “crimes against humanity”. “The ongoing attacks blatantly violate international law, and the severity of these violations demands accountability,” he said.

Palestinians have legitimate right to defend their lands

In an interview with American CBS TV channel on Wednesday, Amir Abdollahian highlighted the importance of taking into account decades of Palestinian people’s suffering under the occupying regime of Israel.

"What Hamas did was based on its legitimate right to defend itself," he observed.

The top diplomat particularly condemned the mass killing of civilians in the Gaza Strip. "As I said, we are opposed to killing women and children everywhere," Amir Abdollahian added.

Taking into account the consequences of a possible expansion of the conflict, the top diplomat stated that Iran is making serious efforts to stop “war crimes” against the Palestinian people. 

"We really didn't want this crisis to expand," he said.

Iran, France agree on taking action to protect civilians

In a meeting with his French counterpart Catherine Colonna, Amir Abdollahian once again expressed Iran’s stance on the horrifying situation in the Gaza Strip. 

Expressing his views on the dimensions of the crisis and solutions to end it, the Iranian party emphasized the need for global action to end the war.

During the meeting which happened on Thursday, the two parties also agreed on the continuation of joint consultations at different levels.

"We had frank, clear and important talks with the French Foreign Minister and made it clear that 'you alongside America cannot only talk about the actions of Hamas'. And we said that, in our opinion, Hamas is a Palestinian liberation movement against the occupation.
"While we have always condemned the killing of women and children everywhere in the world, the silence of America and some Western countries regarding the killing of children and women in Palestine is unbearable," Press TV quoted Amir Abdollahian as saying.  

Previously, French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to the occupied territories drew international outrage as it was made to express France’s “full solidarity” with Israel.

U.S. approach toward Gaza “susceptible to further conflict in region”

Speaking to the Financial Times, Amir Abdollahian expressed Iran's unwillingness to escalate the war.

The foreign minister said Iran has repeatedly restated that it is against further expansion of the war. Messages have been sent to the United States through back channels to clarify Iran’s stance on the ongoing conflict. But, as Amir Abdollahian noted, the approach taken by the United States might lead to inevitable consequences and hereby causing more chaos in the region.

He warned the United States of the potential results of its blatant support for the Israeli regime. “Through its direct backing of the Zionist crimes, the United States has caused the killing of innocent women and children in the besieged Palestinian territory to increase in absurd numbers,” he stressed.

Zionists crimes “non-negligible” 

Addressing reporters upon his return to Tehran, Amir Abdollahian described his trip to Geneva as fruitful in raising awareness about the tragic situation in Gaza. 

The Iranian foreign minister called the actions done by the Zionist regime as “highly non-negligible.” He urged the world not to turn a blind eye to the suffering of the Palestinian people, calling for collective action to alleviate the situation.

He urged the international community to prioritize justice and humanity over political considerations in the pursuit of peace in the region.

MAS/PA