TEHRAN - In a telephone conversation with Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Saturday, President Ebrahim Raisi of Iran described the issue of Gaza and the genocidal crimes committed by the Zionist regime as the biggest human disaster in modern history.

Raisi proposed organizing referendums in a number of nations, including Japan, to assess support for the rights of the Palestinian people, although Western nations are extremely wary of conducting such surveys.

The president also underlined the need to accurately present the facts surrounding developments in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, the 75-year Israeli occupation, and the Zionist policies that have turned Gaza into the largest open prison in the world.

According to the presidential website, Raisi said, “Today, the correct decision of the authorities and heads of the countries of the world towards the Palestinian nation requires a detailed analysis of what has happened to this oppressed nation during these years and decades.” 

He added, “Understanding this story and recognizing the truth is not a complicated and difficult task.”

Raisi went on to discuss how the U.S. is the primary financier of the Zionist regime’s war machine against the helpless Gazan people, calling the U.S. an accomplice in the crimes. 

The Zionist regime, with the direct support of the United States, has repeatedly violated the laws of war since the beginning of the Gaza war and “dropped bombs on the people of Gaza equivalent to 7 atomic bombs on the scale of the Hiroshima crime,” the president lamented.

Amid such the carnage in Gaza, he said, the Americans brazenly “invite other countries to exercise restraint in the face of these crimes, so that the fake Zionist regime can safely go on with its crimes and genocide.” 

“We believe that the silence and inaction of the authorities and rulers of the world will make the child-killing Zionist rulers more aggressive and it is necessary for different countries, including Japan, with their diplomatic efforts to seriously focus on four important and high-priority issues, namely stop the bombing, provide aid to the people of Gaza,… and pursue the rights of the Palestinian people,” he added.

Following a surprise operation by the Hamas resistance forces on southern Israel, the Israeli regime commenced its devastating attack on Gaza on October 7.

So far, more than 15,000 people have been murdered in Gaza, with over 40,000 injured. According to the Gaza Health Ministry, women and children make up 70% of the victims in Israeli strikes on the blockaded region.

Thousands more are missing and presumed to be buried beneath the wreckage.

UNICEF, the children’s agency of the United Nations, issued a stark warning on Friday over the damage being done to Gaza’s children as a result of the conflict, which it referred to as a “war on children.”

“Europeans’ hypocritical approach”

Raisi went on to call some European countries’ recent statements about Iran’s nuclear activities hypocritical, saying, “The question is which international organization supervises the Zionist regime’s nuclear activities and which organization gives this regime permission to have atomic warheads, with which the people of Gaza are being threatened today.”

Raisi lauds ties with China

He also praised the historical and close ties between Iran and Japan as well as the various opportunities for cooperation, particularly in commercial and economic spheres. 

Raisi concluded his remarks by saying, “Iran and Japan’s growing relations should continue strongly without being affected by the wishes of some ill-wishers.”

Japan PM regrets resumption of the Gaza war 

For his part, Prime Minister Kishida appreciated Iran’s positions on the events in Gaza, voiced worries about the humanitarian situation there, and stressed the need to halt attacks on civilians and provide help to the Gazan population.

In addition, he hailed the cordial ties between Japan and Iran and emphasized that his nation is eager to expand ties with Iran in a number of areas.

In a statement, Japan’s Foreign Ministry said, “Prime Minister Kishida called on Iran to “play a role in the further release of hostages and towards calming down the situation.”

The Japanese leader also expressed regret over the resumption of the war in Gaza after a one-week lull. 

 “It is regrettable that the fighting has resumed and that it is important to return to the agreement and to calm down the situation as soon as possible,” the prime minister suggested.

The ministry said, “The two leaders also exchanged views on the situation in Ukraine, the situation in the Middle East region and Iran’s nuclear issue.”