TEHRAN- The spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry has said that the Israeli attacks on the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip were primarily initiated and sustained by the United States.

During his weekly presser on Monday, Nasser Kanaani noted that the American government stood by the Zionist regime in words and deeds.

The Iranian spokesperson also referred to the United States’ “merely symbolic” decision to airdrop humanitarian supplies into Gaza and stated that Washington is delivering weaponry to Israel while vetoing three resolutions demanding an immediate stop to the conflict in the beleaguered territory. 

Kanaani stressed that the U.S. uses “ridiculous and bitter” tactics to try to defend and right its aggressive foreign policy. 

He asserted, nonetheless, that people everywhere are conscious of the reality on the ground and will never reconsider. 

The U.S. Central Command has announced that together with Jordan’s air force it had “conducted a combined humanitarian assistance airdrop into Gaza … to provide essential relief to civilians affected by the ongoing conflict.”

He went on to add that since the onset of Israel’s war in October, the U.S. has been supplying the regime with massive arms shipments.

The spokesman pointed out that the U.S. has been applying pressure on the Palestinian people, criticizing the previous five months of the international community’s “painful inaction,” especially from the UN, over the Israeli regime’s heinous bombardment against Gaza.

At least 31,112 Palestinians —the majority of them are women and children— have been officially verified murdered and 72,760 more injured thus far in Israel’s genocide campaign, which started on October 7 in response to Operation al-Aqsa Storm by Hamas.

The war has devastated large swathes of Gaza, destroyed hospitals and displaced a major proportion of the population of 2.4 million in the world’s “largest open-air prison.” 

Iran reacts to harsh sanctions by seizing U.S. cargo aboard an oil tanker

During the news conference, Kanaani stated that the U.S. oil cargo that the Marshall Islands-flagged Advantage Sweet was carrying was seized by Iran as a “result of the American administration’s cruel sanctions.”

He added that the U.S. sanctions have inflicted terrible suffering on the Iranian people, particularly the patients with special diseases, as they failed to receive the necessary life-saving medicines. 

According to the spokesman, a large number of Iranian patients have sadly passed away due to a lack of access to essential medications. 

“This is a kind of hypocrisy of the American administration, which hypocritically declares that it did not prevent the export of medicines while imposing extensive sanctions on all items exported to Iran,” Kanaani emphasized. “This is an obvious lie and Iran will never forget these hostilities.”

He continued by noting that other nations had backed out of providing Iran with necessary medications, citing fears of U.S. sanctions and economic penalties against their pharmaceutical industries. 

According to reports, the seizures happened after a court decision that favored butterfly patients, also known as epidermolysis bullosa (EB). 

The EB sufferers, who exhibit severe skin fragility and mechanically caused blistering, filed a case against the U.S. claiming damages. 

Iran ships humanitarian supplies to Egyptian ports for Gaza Strip 

Delivering humanitarian help to the beleaguered citizens of Gaza has been Iran’s priority from the beginning of the conflict in the region, according to Kanaani, who also stated, “We have held many diplomatic consultations and talks through Egypt.”

He stated that Iran is unable to immediately provide help to Palestine due to Israel’s siege of Gaza.

Kanaani also said that Iran has been informed on many occasions by Egyptian authorities that Israel forbids the distribution of help to the Palestinian people. 

“It is not possible for Iran to send aid supplies to Palestine directly. The Egyptian government has also announced in its consultations (with Iran) that sadly the (Israeli) regime does not permit the transit of aid, but this has not prevented Iran from making efforts. Iran has made attempts and has sent aid through Egypt,” he added. 

“However, these [acts of obstruction] did not stop Iran’s efforts and we sent aid through Egypt,” Kanaani said.

Iran views regional security, stability “advantageous to world”

Elsewhere in his remarks, he said that the current hostilities in the Red Sea between U.S. ships and Yemeni armed forces resulted from events in Palestine. 

He expressed concern that instability had been brought about in certain areas of the region by the five-month-long Gaza Strip crisis, which was created by Israel’s belligerent tactics and the U.S.’s lack of desire to stop the conflict. 

He continued by saying that “Iran considers regional stability and security for the benefit of the international community and regional countries and its commercial activities.”

He suggested that instead of accusing other nations, the U.S. government concentrate on the core of the issue. 

He said that it would be preferable for the U.S. to deploy its resources to thwart Israel’s machine of mass killing.