Iranian, Saudi foreign ministers discuss developments in Gaza, Rafah

In a telephone conversation on Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud stressed the need to develop a strategic direction in mutual relations given the ongoing regional and international developments and problems facing the Muslim world, particularly the Palestinian issue.

Amir-Abdollahian said Israel continues its crimes against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank and its moves in Rafah and called for efforts to counter the regime’s threats.

The United States is complicit in the developments in Gaza and the West Bank and has given Israel the green light to conduct the ground invasion of Rafah, he added.

He emphasized that Iran does not believe that war could be a solution to the Palestinian issue.

The top Iranian diplomat warned that if the conflict is not solved immediately through political channels, the continuation of Israel’s genocide will have “inevitable” adverse consequences on regional security and stability.

He called for an emergency meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to discuss the crisis in Gaza.

The humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip is deteriorating at an alarming pace as the Israeli regime keeps pressing ahead with its genocidal war on the besieged territory.

Nearly 28,770 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed since Israel launched its onslaught on Gaza in early October. More than 68,550 Palestinians have been also injured.

Meanwhile, Israel is preparing a ground invasion of Gaza’s southern city Rafah where more than a million Palestinians have fled since the start of the war on Gaza, with a top UN official warning that it could lead to a “slaughter”.

For his part, the Saudi foreign minister welcomed his Iranian counterpart’s proposals on an OIC emergency meeting to end Israel’s genocide in Gaza and the West Bank.

He criticized the Israeli prime minister for paying no attention to international calls to end the war against Gaza.

Pointing to the existing problems in the way Iranian pilgrims perform Umrah rituals, Farhan reiterated that there is no political consideration in this regard.

He said Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation is conducting final works to solve the issue and expressed hope that Iranian pilgrims would be able to travel to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.