Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian warns that the continuation of Israel’s acts of terror and genocide in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip will lead to another human disaster in the region.
Amir-Abdollahian made the remarks in a phone conversation with Secretary General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres on Thursday as Israel plans to launch a long-feared all-out military offensive against Rafah, home to 1.5 million displaced Palestinians.
“In continuation of the ‘policy of terror and genocide’, the Zionist regime (Israel) is now trying to cause another human disaster in the region by closing the Rafah and Karem Abu Salim border crossings,” Amir-Abdollahian said.
He added that Israel aims to render international efforts to stop the war fruitless.
The US must exert pressure on Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept an Egyptian-Qatari ceasefire proposal, he emphasized.
Otherwise, if the US shows leniency towards the Israeli regime in committing new crimes in Rafah, the consequences will be severe for the supporters of the war, the top Iranian diplomat warned.
“Now it is the White House that must choose between showing the will to put pressure on the Israeli regime to stop the war and dragging the region into a new and different level of crisis and tension,” Amir-Abdollahian pointed out.
On Tuesday, Israeli troops took control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza, a vital lifeline for aid to enter the territory. Israeli officials said it was the first step towards a full-scale assault on Rafah.
