Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei held on Tuesday Washington responsible for Israel's assault on Gaza and said the “genocide of Palestinians must stop immediately.”
His comments came while Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said that a “preemptive action” could be expected in the coming hours, adding that Israel will not be allowed to make any move in the Gaza Strip without facing consequences.
“No one can confront Muslims and the resistance forces if the Zionist regime's (Israel) crimes against Palestinians continue. The bombardment of Gaza must stop immediately,” Khamenei told a group of students in Tehran.
His comments were the latest in a series of warnings that Tehran has made in the past days that the conflict could expand if Israel does not stop its assault on besieged Gaza.
Since Palestinian group Hamas attacked Israel, Iran has been in close contact with its regional allies, known as the “resistance axis,” including Lebanese group Hezbollah and Iraqi militias.
Khamenei went on to blame the United States for directing the Zionist policies in the past one week.
Amid cheers “Death to Israel,” he said: “What is in front of the eyes of the whole world is the Zionist regime’s crime of genocide.”
Claims by some countries that the Palestinians have killed civilians are false as all those living in settlements across the occupied territories are armed, he stressed.
Meanwhile, Abdollahian said: “Leaders of the Resistance will not allow the Zionist regime to take any action in Gaza. ... All options are open and we cannot be indifferent to the war crimes committed against the people of Gaza.”
“The resistance front is capable of waging a long-term war with the enemy (Israel)... in the coming hours, we can expect a preemptive action by the resistance front,” he told state TV without elaborating.
The FM added: “If we don’t defend Gaza today, tomorrow we have to defend against these [phosphorus] bombs in the children’s hospital of our own country.”
Hours earlier, the FM said the time for finding political solutions for the developments in Palestine is running out.
On Monday, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that there is a possibility that the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians could widen to other fronts.
Meanwhile, European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called on Iran to use its influence to prevent the spillover of Israel's war on Gaza into the region.
Borrell said he telephoned Abdollahian for talks on the developments in Gaza.
“EU position is clear on condemning terrorism. And on the protection of civilians at all times,” he wrote on the X platform on Tuesday.
“It is in everyone’s interest to prevent a regional spillover. Urged Iran to use its influence to avoid regional escalation,” he added.
Later, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said Abdollahian told Borrell Iran blames the United States for fueling and expanding the Israel-Hamas conflict by adopting “unconstructive policies” and providing support for Israel to launch more attacks on Gaza.
