Iran's President Slams the West over War in Gaza, Support for Israel

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, center left, and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, center right, meet at the government palace in Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (Ahmed Jalil/Pool Photo via AP)
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, center left, and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, center right, meet at the government palace in Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (Ahmed Jalil/Pool Photo via AP)
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Iran's President Slams the West over War in Gaza, Support for Israel

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, center left, and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, center right, meet at the government palace in Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (Ahmed Jalil/Pool Photo via AP)
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, center left, and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, center right, meet at the government palace in Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (Ahmed Jalil/Pool Photo via AP)

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday slammed the West, saying that Israel is “committing massacres” in the war in Gaza and using European and American weapons to do so.

Pezeshkian, who spoke in Baghdad at the start of his first visit abroad since taking office, is hoping to cement Tehran’s ties to Baghdad as regional tensions increasingly pull both majority Shiite countries into the widening Middle East fray.

Iran has been a staunch supporter of the Palestinian Hamas group since its Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel that sparked the war in the Gaza Strip. More than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the war erupted, according to local health officials. The war has also caused vast destruction and displaced around 90% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million, often multiple times, The AP reportd.

“The Israeli entity is committing massacres against women, children, young men and elderly. They bomb hospitals and schools,” Pezeshkian said.

“All these crimes are being committed by using European and American ammunition and bombs,” he added, without elaborating.

Ahead of Pezeshkian’s arrival, an explosion struck a site near Baghdad International Airport used by the US military on Tuesday night. There were no reported casualties and the circumstances of the explosion were unclear.

The US Embassy later described it as an “attack” on the Baghdad Diplomatic Services Compound, an American diplomatic facility, and that it was “assessing the damage” and the cause of the explosion. It didn't provide further details.

Pezeshkian's visit is significant for both countries.



UN Names Former British Diplomat Tom Fletcher to Lead Aid Efforts

Fletcher replaces Martin Griffiths, who stepped down at the end of June for health reasons.
Fletcher replaces Martin Griffiths, who stepped down at the end of June for health reasons.
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UN Names Former British Diplomat Tom Fletcher to Lead Aid Efforts

Fletcher replaces Martin Griffiths, who stepped down at the end of June for health reasons.
Fletcher replaces Martin Griffiths, who stepped down at the end of June for health reasons.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday appointed former British diplomat Tom Fletcher as the new aid chief for the world body amid worsening humanitarian crises in the Gaza Strip, Sudan and elsewhere, largely driven by conflict.

Fletcher replaces Martin Griffiths, who stepped down at the end of June for health reasons.

Fletcher - who is currently the principal of Hertford College, Oxford - was the British ambassador to Lebanon from 2011-2015 and served as the foreign and development policy adviser to three British prime ministers between 2007-2011, the UN said in a statement.

He "has strong experience of leading and transforming organizations and bringing an understanding of diplomacy at the highest levels," the UN said.

UN spokesperson Farhan Haq said he did not know when Fletcher would take up the role.

The announcement comes as UN efforts to tackle humanitarian needs around the world are significantly underfunded.

The UN has appealed for $49 billion in 2024 to help 187.6 million of the people in need across 73 countries. But the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, which Fletcher will lead, said on Wednesday that so far it has only received $16.21 billion.