TEHRAN - Hossein Amir Abdollahian, Iran's foreign minister, has condemned Israel's attack on al-Aqsa Mosque in al-Quds (Jerusalem), stating that resistance is alive while the Zionists are desperate.

In a Friday phone call with Ismail Haniyeh, head of the political bureau of the Hamas resistance movement, Amir Abdollahian said, “Undoubtedly, the Zionist regime has become too weak to withstand the uprising of the Palestinian people and the resistance that created the epic of Operation al-Quds Sword.”

“Today, resistance is at its best situation while the Zionist terrorist regime is at its weakest position,” he added.

Amir Abdollahian said Israel’s heinous act against worshipers in al-Aqsa Mosque was the result of certain Arab and Muslim countries’ betrayal of the Palestinian cause by normalizing relations with Israel.

Early on Friday, Israeli soldiers attacked the holy mosque compound in the occupied Old City of al-Quds, injuring more than 150 Palestinian worshipers.

The occupation soldiers invaded the mosque through the Moroccan Gate, also known as the Mughrabi Gate, firing sound bombs and rubber bullets at worshipers, according to the Palestinian news agency Ma'an.

Videos showed that the Israeli forces also targeted ambulances and news teams, chasing them through the mosque's courtyards and beating a number of people.

The Islamic Republic's senior diplomat reaffirmed Iran's support for an independent Palestine throughout all native Palestinian lands with al-Quds as its capital. Amir Abdollahian stated that he will continue diplomatic talks with his Muslim counterparts in order to put an end to Israeli crimes against Palestinians.

For his part, Haniyeh expressed gratitude for Iran's support for the Palestinian cause.

He urged Muslim countries, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and the United Nations Security Council to step up diplomatic efforts to halt Israel.

On Friday, Saeed Khatibzadeh, the spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, underscored that the Israeli regime is brazenly breaching human rights norms and international law by committing crimes at al-Aqsa Mosque. He also condemned the Zionists' “shameless” acts of violence against sacred places in Palestine and against fasting people and worshipers at mosques.

The Iranian official further stated that the apartheid Zionist regime will never change its attitude toward Palestinians and will continue to perpetrate atrocities against the oppressed people.

“We are now witnessing the unbridled violence of this apartheid and racist regime.” 

“Crimes of the Zionists against the oppressed Palestinian people show the deepening weakness of this occupying regime, which is only resorting to assaults on the defenseless worshipers to cover up its hollow power,” Khatibzadeh pointed out. 

Following the signing of peace accords in 1979 and 1994, Egypt and Jordan respectively established full diplomatic relations with the occupation regime. In 2020, when Donald Trump was in office, four Arab countries — namely the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco – decided to normalize ties with Israel via U.S.-brokered agreements.

The initiative, spearheaded by the UAE, has drawn significant condemnation from Palestinians, as well as nations and human rights advocates throughout the world, including among Muslims.

Khatibzadeh also called on Muslim countries to take stance toward Israeli acts in al-Aqsa Mosque. He said that the Israeli regime along with its regional and international allies should be held accountable for any possible fallouts in al-Quds and Palestine. 

The Iranian Foreign Ministry official called on the OIC to openly back the Palestinians.

The Tel Aviv regime has ramped up its acts of violence across the Palestinian territory since the beginning of Ramadan, prompting Palestinians to mount a greater response.
Since March 22, over two dozen Palestinians have been targeted by the regime. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has already granted Israeli soldiers carte blanche in the occupied West Bank to “defeat” what he calls “terror.”