TEHRAN – Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi has drawn parallels between the modus operandi of the Daesh terror group and the Israeli regime, saying both entities are looking to take the lives of innocent civilians as they are unable to face their opponents on the battlefield.

Raisi made the remarks during a meeting with the visiting speaker of the National Assembly of Tajikistan after the deadliest terrorist attack in the past 30 years ripped through the Southeastern Iranian city of Kerman, taking the lives of at least 85 people. 

Daesh claimed responsibility for the attack. Subsequent investigations by Iranian intelligence agencies confirmed the terror group’s complicity, with some Iranian officials pointing to Israel’s role in facilitating the attack.  

During the meeting, Raisi also emphasized the importance of regional unity in the face of terrorism, saying all countries must take action to help uproot the terrorists. The president also referred to the fight against "terrorism, organized crime, and drugs" as a requirement for Iranian and Tajik cooperation. “Daesh is a puppet of the U.S. and the Zionist regime and we should take cohesive action to eradicate this evil entity,” Raisi commented. 

Rustam Emomali, for his part, considered regional instability to be a common concern for both countries and a hazardous factor for commercial cooperation.

Emomali also condemned the ongoing Zionist crimes in the Gaza Strip, stating his country's support for the formation of an independent Palestinian government and condemning Israel’s killing of more than 23,000 Palestinian civilians in the past three months. 

Israel’s latest round of onslaughts against Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip came after the Hamas resistance group carried out a successful operation inside the occupied territories on October 7. 

UN reports show that as a result of Israel’s disproportionate response to the Hamas offensive, about 90% of Gaza’s population have been displaced and the majority of the infrastructure has been leveled. At least a quarter of the people in Gaza are also on the verge of famine as they are being deprived of food, water, and medication due to a blockade by the Israeli regime. 

The U.S. has been asking West Asian countries to refrain from opening new fronts against Israel to protect “peace” in the region. Meanwhile, Washington has been delivering lethal weaponry to Israel for use against Gaza, without making any efforts to rein in the regime’s attacks on other countries in the region.