Iran sees global threat in Israel

Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Saeed Jalili says Israel’s deadly attack on the Gaza-bound aid Flotilla has turned the regime into a global threat.

“The Zionist regime’s folly shows that this regime is a threat to the independent world, just as defending Palestine and Gaza is protecting liberty,” Jalili was quoted as saying in a statement from the council secretariat.

The remarks were made during a telephone conversation with the head of the Hamas political bureau, Khaled Meshaal, over the recent killing of at least 20 activists by the Israeli navy in a pre-dawn raid on the Freedom Flotilla aid convoy.

Hailing Iran’s support for the Palestinian nation, Meshaal echoed calls by top Iranian officials for the formation of a united stance against Israeli aggressions in the Middle East.

“The international community must oppose the Zionist’s regime’s crimes, and today has paved the way for punishing this regime,” Meshaal said.

Earlier Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stressed that the “time is ripe for the international community…to take a resolute stance against the recurring crimes of this occupier and belligerent regime.”

The Gaza Flotilla, comprised of nine ships, was carrying humanitarian aid for the impoverished people of the war-ravaged coastal strip which remains under a three-year Israeli blockade.