TEHRAN- Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian held talks on Tuesday with his Nigerian counterpart Bakary Yao Sangare in Tehran.

The two parties discussed a wide range of bilateral and regional issues. His visit comes as France’s days as a military power in Africa, including Niger, are numbered.  

‘Azerbaijan and Armenia have a historic opportunity to move toward peace’ 

In a late Monday press conference following the conclusion of the second 3+3 format meeting, dubbed “Time for Peace, Cooperation, and Progress in the South Caucasus,” Amir Abdollahian also said regional countries in the Caucasus now have a historic opportunity to move towards peace and cooperation as “the war in the South Caucasus is over”.

The top Iranian diplomat also expressed hope that Georgia can “constructively” and “effectively” participate in the upcoming meetings of the format. 

Georgia has not taken part in the last two 3+3 meetings.

Monday’s meeting came after an almost three-decade-long conflict came to an end between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Baku recently took control of the entire area, which is officially part of Azerbaijan but has been inhabited by a predominantly Armenian population for hundreds of years.

“U.S. escalating conflict in Gaza by supporting Israel to the hilt”

In the press conference, Amir Abdollahian also said despite deceptive statements from U.S. officials, Washington is supplying the occupying regime with weapons, fueling Israel’s continued genocide in the Gaza Strip.

“One of the important issues raised during today’s meeting was the issue of Palestine and the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza,” Amir Abdollahian said, noting that his Turkish and Russian counterparts had taken “strong positions in favor of cessation of the war.”

The top diplomat was alluding to the catastrophic war that Israel has been waging against the besieged Gaza Strip since October 7, following the staging of Operation al-Aqsa Storm, a surprise attack into the occupied territories by Palestinian resistance groups based in Gaza, in response to the Israeli regime’s increased crimes against the Palestinian people.

“Unfortunately, the United States has been offering its one-sided and full support to the Zionist regime,” Amir Abdollahian said, adding, “Today, the American security apparatus is managing Israel’s war on Gaza”

“The administrative and political system in the occupied territories has completely fallen apart, but under the direct supervision of American military personnel, the regime’s war machine is trying to save the collapsed Israeli regime from crisis,” he added.

The foreign minister also cited the regular trips to the occupied territories by American officials and their ongoing efforts to draft a resolution in the UN Security Council that would characterize Israel’s crimes of genocide as an act of “self-defense.”

Amir Abdollahian said he had brought up this issue with his Russian and Chinese counterparts during the Tehran meeting, noting, “All of our efforts are aimed at preventing a resolution from being issued against the resistance movements in Palestine.”

Abdollahian then discussed the direct U.S. involvement in the Israeli war against Gaza and the Tel Aviv regime’s attempts to obstruct the delivery of humanitarian supplies to the coastal region.

“The al-Quds occupying regime is trying to eliminate the resistance from political equations in Gaza and they also seek forced displacement of the residents of Gaza,” Amir Abdollahian said.

He confirmed that American officials have been sending messages to all parties involved in Palestine’s developments, including Iran, adding, “Their messages contain two main points. Firstly, they are not interested in further spread of the war, and secondly, they call on Iran to show self-restraint.”

“Despite their claims about being opposed to further spread of war, the Americans have been fanning the flames of war on Gaza during the past two weeks by sending thousands of arms consignments to Israel and supporting the regime,” Iran’s foreign minister said.

Amir Abdollahian concluded, “Therefore, we warn all the countries that have been involved in the recent escalation in Gaza, including the United States and the Zionist regime, to stop the massacre of Palestinian people before it is too late.”