Iran: Response of Resistance Factions Will Only Stop with Immediate End to War on Gaza

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani. (Iran Foreign Ministry)
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani. (Iran Foreign Ministry)
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Iran: Response of Resistance Factions Will Only Stop with Immediate End to War on Gaza

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani. (Iran Foreign Ministry)
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani. (Iran Foreign Ministry)

The response of the resistance factions will end once the war in Gaza has stopped, announced Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani on Monday.

"We have repeatedly said that the resistance groups represent their nations and make decisions and act independently based on the interests of their nations," he added.

Israel cannot accept the "strategic defeat" by a resistance group in Gaza, so it is trying to justify its shocking loss by pinning blame on Iran, he added.

The spokesman indicated that the "continuation and escalation of the clashes are due to the United States’ absolute support of the Zionist regime's criminal acts."

Kanaani stated that the resistance groups had repeatedly warned that they would not stand idly by if the military attacks did not end.

The widespread global wave of opposition to the war on Gaza shows that people around the world also reject the aggression and want to bring an end to the atrocities, said the spokesman.

"The US and the Zionist regime must understand that they can escape the situation only by stopping the war completely and immediately, allowing the dispatch of humanitarian aid [to the coastal enclave], and ending the forced displacement of the people of Gaza," he stressed

Meanwhile, President Ebrahim Raisi sent separate messages to the leaders and presidents of 50 countries, including Russia, China, Türkiye, South Africa, and Jordan, calling for unity in the course of lifting the siege on Gaza and ending the Zionist atrocities in Palestine.

In his letter, Raisi said they should use diplomatic and economic channels to pressure Israel to stop its crimes in Gaza.

He noted the brutal crimes and massacres carried out by Israel in the Gaza Strip over a period of 45 days, which have resulted in the killing of over 13,000 persons, according to the Iranian News Agency (IRNA).

Raisi criticized the double standards adopted by some Western governments and their deliberate neglect of the principles of humanity, ethics, and rights.

He stressed that "today is the day of the divine and human test of all governments," calling on the nations to use all the available tools for pressure, including stopping commercial and political cooperation and communications with Israel.



Grossi Wants to Meet with Iran’s Pezeshkian ‘at Earliest Convenience’

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi speaks to the media at the Dupont Circle Hotel in Washington, US, March 15, 2023. (Reuters)
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi speaks to the media at the Dupont Circle Hotel in Washington, US, March 15, 2023. (Reuters)
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Grossi Wants to Meet with Iran’s Pezeshkian ‘at Earliest Convenience’

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi speaks to the media at the Dupont Circle Hotel in Washington, US, March 15, 2023. (Reuters)
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi speaks to the media at the Dupont Circle Hotel in Washington, US, March 15, 2023. (Reuters)

Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi announced he intends to visit Tehran through a letter he addressed to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

Iranian Mehr Agency reported that Grossi sent a congratulatory message to the Iranian president-elect, which stated: “I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to you on your election win as President of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

“Cooperation between the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Islamic Republic of Iran has been at the focal attention of the international circles for many years. I am confident that, together, we will be able to make decisive progress on this crucial matter.”

“To that effect, I wish to express my readiness to travel to Iran to meet with you at the earliest convenience,” Iran’s Mehr news agency quoted Grossi as saying.

The meeting – should it take place - will be the first for Pezeshkian, who had pledged during his election campaign to be open to the West to resolve outstanding issues through dialogue.

Last week, American and Israeli officials told the Axios news site that Washington sent a secret warning to Tehran last month regarding its fears of Iranian research and development activities that might be used to produce nuclear weapons.

In May, Grossi expressed his dissatisfaction with the course of the talks he held over two days in Iran in an effort to resolve outstanding matters.

Since the death of the former Iranian president, Ibrahim Raisi, the IAEA chief refrained from raising the Iranian nuclear file, while European sources said that Tehran had asked to “freeze discussions” until the internal situation was arranged and a new president was elected.