TEHRAN- Hossein Amir Abdollahian, the Foreign Minister of Iran, has issued a warning that his country would not stand idly by if the Israeli occupation regime continues to act barbarically toward the Palestinians in the beleaguered Gaza Strip.

Amir Abdollahian issued the warning in an interview with the Arabic section of the Al Jazeera network on Sunday, the ninth day of the brutal Israeli bombardment of the coastal region, that has so far left about 2800 dead and about 10,000 injured.

The Israeli occupation regime is also planning a large-scale ground offensive in Gaza after driving hundreds of thousands to flee south Gaza.

“If the Zionist entity decides to enter Gaza, the resistance leaders will turn it into a cemetery for its soldiers,” Amir Abdollahian said, adding that the continuation of Israeli aggression against Gaza would expand the war fronts across the whole region.

The senior Iranian diplomat expressed hope for diplomatic initiatives to resolve the situation but issued a warning that Tehran would not remain silent if the Israeli regime continued its cruel assault on Gazans.

“We hope that political efforts will prevent the war from expanding, otherwise no one knows what will happen in the next hour; Iran cannot remain as a spectator to this situation,” Amir Abdollahian said.

The resistance front has stated that it was prepared for all eventualities, the foreign minister added.

“The United States has come forward to preserve the statue and puppet of Israel,” Amir Abdollahian told Al Jazeera. “If the scope of the war expands, heavy losses will befall the U.S. as well.”

Iran cautions Israel via UN against ground invasion in Gaza

According to the American news outlet Axios, Iran stressed to Israel on Saturday that it did not want the situation in Gaza to worsen but that it would be forced to take action if Israel maintained its assault on the coastal strip.

Axios reported that Amir Abdollahian had met with UN envoy to the Middle East Tor Wennesland in the Lebanese capital of Beirut and delivered the message to the Israeli regime, citing two diplomatic sources with knowledge of the matter.

“Iran has its red lines,” Amir Abdollahian was quoted as saying. “If the Israeli military operation continues — and especially if Israel follows through on its promise of a ground offensive in Gaza — Iran will have to respond.”

Israel started its onslaught on October 7 after resistance groups launched multi-pronged Operation al-Aqsa Storm on the occupation regime. It was the largest military operation against the occupying regime in decades.

Israel’s military issued a statement on Friday ordering Gaza City inhabitants to leave the region within 24 hours. This move is seen as a prelude to an occupation ground assault.

The military would be operating “significantly” in the city over the next several days, it said, and civilians wouldn’t be allowed to return until an additional announcement was made. This amounted to more than a million people living north of the Gaza Strip.

Iran urges China to intervene in Gaza conflict

In a phone call with China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Sunday, Amir Abdollahian asked China to step in and stop the ongoing slaughter in the Gaza Strip as Israel continues to strike the civilian population in the blockaded Gaza. 

Amir Abdollahian also stated that in light of the ongoing crisis in Palestine, the United Nations must take on its obligations with regard to maintaining world peace and security.

However, he encouraged China to utilize its diplomatic capacities to prevent the Israeli regime from bombing people in Gaza.

The foreign minister called Israel’s collective punishment of Palestinians in Gaza “unacceptable,” and emphasized the importance of establishing humanitarian corridors to transport supplies to the people in the enclave.

If the illegal strikes against Gaza’s residents do not cease, he said, there is no assurance that the conflict won’t get out of hand.

Amir Abdollahian and Wang spoke over the phone just after the senior Iranian diplomat got back from a trip to Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Qatar.

After speaking with the heads of the anti-Israel resistance movements during his regional visit, Amir Abdollahian declared that if Israel does not halt its hostilities against the Palestinians, the conflict in Gaza would extend to other regions and nations.

Iran to attend actively in crucial OIC summit on Palestine

Upon ending an official visit to Qatar on Sunday, Amir Abdollahian said that Iran will actively participate in an urgent ministerial gathering scheduled by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to talk about the deteriorating situation in the Palestinian territory of the Gaza Strip.

Amir Abdollahian also said that Iran has been invited to the OIC summit, which is scheduled for October 18 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran has been invited to the extraordinary meeting of the OIC and we will actively attend this session,” said the minister.

After Iran requested such a meeting amid the deteriorating military situation in Gaza, the OIC Executive Committee decided to hold the urgent meeting on the basis of an invitation from the group’s current rotating chair, Saudi Arabia.