Iran warns against supplying weapons to Israel
TEHRAN - The Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces has warned about the U.S. providing the Israeli regime with weapons for use against the Palestinian people, saying the weapon supplies to the regime would further complicate the situation.
Major General Mohammad Hossein Bagheri made the remarks in a phone conversation with Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler. The two military officials discussed the escalation of tensions in the Gaza Strip.
General Bagheri stressed that Israel’s actions and desecration of holy places in Palestine have exacerbated the tensions. “Serious action should be taken to prevent the continuation of the Zionist regime's brutal attacks on civilians in Gaza and to provide them with humanitarian aid, including food and medicine,” the Iranian general said, according to Tasnim.
General Bagheri considered the extensive support of the U.S., including the provision of weapons and heavy ammunition for the Zionist regime, as the participation of the U.S. government in the crimes of the Zionist regime. U.S. support for the Israeli regime will complicate the situation in Gaza, General Bagheri said, warning about the consequences of that.
He also asked the Turkish government to use everything in its power to prevent the continuation of crimes and support the people of Gaza.
The Turkish defense minister explained the actions of the Ankara government to reduce tension and stop conflicts, emphasizing that his country will continue these efforts.
Military chief warns ‘other actors’ may get involved if Israel doesn’t halt Gaza crimes
Earlier, Bagheri also spoke with the defense ministers of Russia and Qatar about the situation in Gaza.
“The continuation of the Zionist regime’s crimes and the direct support and backing from certain countries would further complicate the situation and could make ‘other actors’ intervene in this arena,” General Bagheri told Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, according to Tasnim.
In phone talks with Qatar’s Defense Minister Khalid bin Mohammed al-Atiyya, Bagheri also emphasized that silence by the Islamic world in the face of the Israeli atrocities is unjustifiable.
In his two calls, the Iranian military chief said the international community must immediately halt the Israeli massacre in Gaza and send humanitarian aid to the besieged people.
The occupation regime of Israel has cut off water, food, medicine and fuel to Gaza since October 7, when the Hamas resistance group launched a surprise attack on Israel inside the occupied territories.
The senior general also censured the U.S. for commanding the Israeli criminal operations against Gazans, calling for a ban on the deployment of arms and equipment from the United States’ regional bases to the occupied Palestinian territories.
According to the UN, Israel’s bombardment of Gaza killed 307 Palestinians in the 24-hours up to Thursday evening, bringing the death toll since Israel declared war on the Palestinian enclave to 3,785 – of whom at least 1,524 were children and 1,444 women.
The actual death toll in Gaza is likely to be far higher as hundreds more victims remain buried under the rubble of buildings leveled by the Israeli onslaught, which is nearing the end of its second week.