Iran’s U.N. mission said this Saturday that if Israel doesn’t stop attacking Gaza, Tehran will intervene and Tel Aviv will have to face ‘far-reaching consequences’.
This Saturday, and as the bloody war between Israel and Hamas continues, Iran sent a clear message to Israel that if the Jewish state continues carrying out deadly airstrikes against people in Gaza, it will have no choice but to intervene and make Israel face grave consequences.
In a tweet this Saturday morning, Iran’s mission to the United Nations Saeed Iravani said that “if the Israeli apartheid’s war crimes & genocide are not halted immediately, the situation could spiral out of control & ricochet far-reaching consequences – the responsibility of which lies with the UN, the Security Council & the states steering the Council toward a dead end.”
The rhetoric from both sides of the war shows no sign of de-escalation any time soon. To read between the lines, Israel has promised to annihilate Hamas in retaliation for the attack by the Palestinian Islamist group that happened last Saturday when Hamas stormed Israeli towns, killing 1,300 people and taking dozens of hostages – the worst attack on civilians in Israel since 1948.
But the retaliation from Israel has been even more violent. A few hours after Saturday’s attacks by Hamas, Israeli jets and artillery subjected Gaza to the most intense bombardment it has ever seen, a populated area in Palestine where more than 2 million Palestinians live. Gaza authorities say more than 2,200 people have been killed due to Israel’s airstrikes. Israel has also put the whole Gaza under total siege, banning any food, water, medicine, and other humanitarian aids to reach Palestinians.
Saudi Arabia joined Iran in opposing Israel’s growing bloodshed in Gaza
In addition to Iran, Saudi Arabia is also backing Palestinians and opposing Israel’s increasing violence in Gaza these days. This Saturday, two Saudi officials told Reuters news agency that the Kingdom has decided to halt the process of normalization of ties with Israel as a result of its increasing violence against Palestinians in Gaza. Senior US officials have already publicly acknowledged that the shock Hamas onslaught last Saturday has derailed the normalization effort, even if they’re “not abandoning it.”
Also on the same day, Saudi Arabia called an urgent meeting of foreign ministers from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, a 57-member bloc of Muslim countries. The OIC said in a statement that the meeting would “address the escalating military situation in Gaza and its environs as well as the deteriorating conditions that endanger the lives of civilians and the overall security and stability of the region.”
A day before on Friday, the Saudi Foreign Ministry denounced the displacement of Palestinians within Gaza and attacks on “defenseless civilians,” this statement was in fact the strongest language of the Kingdom criticizing Israel since the war broke out last Saturday. Riyadh “affirms its categorical rejection of calls for the forced displacement of the Palestinian people from Gaza, and its condemnation of the continued targeting of defenseless civilians there,” the Ministry said in the statement.
The war between Hamas and Israel has even caused closer relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran, Israel’s arch enemy. This Wednesday. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman took his first phone call from Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, during which the two leaders discussed “the current military situation in Gaza and its environs,” according to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
“Prince Mohammed told Raisi that Riyadh is communicating with all international and regional parties to stop the ongoing escalation. He also stressed “the kingdom’s firm position towards supporting the Palestinian cause,” the SPA said in its report.