TEHRAN - Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said on Sunday that the Zionist regime, working as a proxy for the U.S. in the region, has invaded the Gaza Strip and is murdering women and children while claiming that it is targeting Hamas.

Speaking at a joint news conference with South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor in Tehran, Amir Abdollahian denounced the Gaza strikes as an act of war that the Israeli regime is doing “on behalf of the United States”.

The senior Iranian diplomat lamented the bitter reality that U.S. President Joe Biden, on his visit to Tel Aviv on Wednesday, expressed support for the Zionist regime, which is bombing hospitals, mosques, churches, and homes in Gaza and killing women and children under the guise of combating Hamas.

Amir Abdollahian expressed regret at Biden’s announcement in Tel Aviv that the U.S. will send hundreds of planes and ships loaded with weapons to Israel, lamenting that just 20 trucks of humanitarian aid had been coordinated to reach the beleaguered Gaza Strip. 

“This indicates that a proxy war against Palestinians has been initiated by the Israeli regime.”

He also cautioned that the region is presently a “powder keg,” and that any Israeli “miscalculation” in continuing with its strategy of extermination and forced expulsion of Gazans will have “heavy and bitter consequences” for the region and interests of warmongers.

The region could spiral out of control and anything could happen at any time if the U.S. and the Israeli regime do not immediately cease their “crimes against humanity”, he warned.

The foreign minister also thanked the South African people and government for their support of Palestine in its fight against the apartheid Israeli regime. 

South African FM says the 1967 borders must be respected

Pandor, for her part, stated that South Africa has continuously shown sympathy for Palestine.

She declared that no one should have to endure injustice and urged greater action to support the Palestinian people.

The chief South African diplomat highlighted that Palestinians must own their lands and that the 1967 borders must be respected.

South Africa favors peace and feels that Palestinians’ territories have been seized and their human rights have been violated, she said.

“Israeli crimes prove failure in face of resistance groups”

Also in a phone conversation with Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn on Saturday, Amir Abdollahian said that the Israeli regime’s war crimes during its ceaseless assault on the beleaguered Gaza Strip demonstrate its failure in the face of Palestinian resistance groups. 

Top Iranian diplomat firmly condemned Israel’s genocidal aggression against Gaza and the regime’s ongoing crimes, which include an attack on a hospital in the blockaded region that killed nearly 500 people and an attack on a church that killed several displaced people who had taken refuge there.

“Targeting churches and their institutions, along with the shelters they provide to protect innocent citizens, especially children and women who have lost their homes due to Israeli airstrikes on residential areas over the past 13 days, constitutes a war crime that cannot be ignored,” the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of al-Quds said following the attack.

During his phone call, Amir Abdollahian said, “All measures taken by Palestinian resistance groups are aimed at countering the Israeli occupation in accordance with international law.”

“The Zionist regime’s new crimes, including … continued blockade of this territory to prevent water, food, medicines, and fuel from reaching the people of Gaza despite all the efforts made by the United Nations, prove the Zionist regime’s failure in the face of Palestinian resistance groups,” Iran’s foreign minister added.

For his part, the foreign minister of Luxembourg expressed optimism that a political resolution would quickly reduce tensions in the region.

Asselborn went on to say that Iran’s “constructive and active” involvement could be very helpful in bringing peace and tranquility back to the region.

According to Gaza’s health officials, since October 7, when fighters from the Hamas resistance group began an unprecedented, massive onslaught against the occupying regime, at least 4,385 Palestinians have perished as a result of Israeli airstrikes. Women, children, and the elderly account for almost 70% of the deaths. In addition, about 14,000 people have sustained injuries.

Iran, Oman align aid efforts for Gaza

In a telephone conversation on Saturday night, Amir Abdollahian and his Omani counterpart Sayyid Badr Albusaidi also shared views about the latest developments in Palestine amid the relentless Israeli attacks on Gaza.

The senior diplomats from Oman and Iran also deliberated strategies to assist the Palestinians.

The two sides also weighed plans to put an immediate stop to the killing of Palestinian women and children, relieve the closure of Gaza, and provide food, medicine, and fuel to the enclave as humanitarian relief.

They also vehemently denounced the Zionist regime’s policy of forcibly evicting residents of the Gaza Strip.

More discussions were made by Amir Abdollahian and Albusaidi on improved cooperation between Muslim countries in support of the Palestinian people.