Tehran has accused Washington of fueling the conflict in the Middle East
Iranian Defense Minister Mohammad-Reza Ashtiani speaks at an event in Tehran, August 23, 2023. © Atta Kenare / AFP
The US will face grave consequences if hostilities in Gaza are not brought to an end, Iran’s defense minister warned on Sunday.
“Our advice to the Americans is to immediately stop the war in Gaza and implement a ceasefire, otherwise they will be hit hard,” Mohammad-Reza Ashtiani said, as cited by IRNA.
Iran has been actively calling for the end of the bloodshed in the Palestinian enclave and has repeatedly accused Washington of fuelling tensions in the Middle East since Israel began its military operations in Gaza following an unprecedented surprise attack by Hamas that left some 1,400 Israelis, mostly civilians, dead.
Earlier on Sunday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said that Israel was committing “war crimes and genocide” with the “full support” of the US government.
“Israel’s criminal acts, fully supported by the United States, portray the arrogant spirit of Washington which incited hatred among nations across the world,” Kanaani said, according to Press TV.
Washington has refused to call for a full ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, opting for a “humanitarian pause” instead. The Pentagon has also shipped additional weapons to the IDF and dispatched a naval armada to the western Mediterranean Sea to show support for Israel.
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Israel and the US, meanwhile, are accusing Iran of orchestrating Hamas attacks on Israeli civilians and supplying the group with weapons. The Pentagon also said that Iran was backing militias, which conducted drone and rocket attacks on US bases in the Middle East. Tehran, for its part, has endorsed Hamas’ deadly October 7 incursion into Israel, but claimed that it was an “entirely Palestinian” raid.
Israel has responded to the October 7 incursion by imposing a nearly complete blockade on Gaza and striking what it says are Hamas-linked targets. More than 9,000 Palestinians, including thousands of women and childrens, have been killed, according to the Hamas-run local authorities.
