US support for child-killing Israeli regime to complicate regional security: Iran’s defense minister

Iran’s Defense Minister Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Ashtiani says the recent Palestinian operation in the occupied territories exposed the “fake power” of the child-killing Israeli regime, warning that the US and the West’s support for Tel Aviv has complicated the situation in the region.

Ashtiani said Palestinian operations, including Operation Al-Aqsa Storm, rely on the capabilities of resistance fighters and their spirit of resilience after several decades of sanctions and harassment.

“As a completely Palestinian operation, Operation Al-Aqsa Storm was successful, had great achievements, and clearly exposed the fake power of the Zionist regime,” he added in a meeting with Turkish Ambassador to Tehran Hicabi Kirlangic on Tuesday.

The Gaza-based Hamas resistance movement launched Operation Al-Aqsa Storm on October 7 in response to Israel’s violations at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East al-Quds and growing settler violence against Palestinians.

The surprise raid left 1,400 Israelis dead, shattering the myth of the illegitimate regime’s invincibility.

In response, Tel Aviv launched a deadly onslaught on the besieged Gaza Strip. It has so far killed 10,305 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured over 25,000 others.

The regime has also imposed a “complete siege” on the coastal enclave, cutting off fuel, electricity, food and water to the more than two million Palestinians living there.

The Iranian defense minister said that the occupying entity will not achieve any of its "objectives" in Gaza, and that the support of the US and the West for the crimes of the child-killing Zionist regime has complicated the security conditions in the region.

He also called on Muslim governments to take practical measures against Israel such as imposing economic sanctions and an embargo on the regime as well as halting the export of energy and fuel to it.

“It is definitely necessary for these countries, especially the major ones in the region, to act more decisively and coordinately in this regard as a religious and humanitarian duty,” Ashtiani said.

Iran FM meets Turkish counterpart In Ankara to discuss Israeli war on Gaza

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian meets with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan to discuss efforts needed for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and ways to end Israeli crimes in the besieged enclave amid the regime’s ongoing aggression.

In the meeting, the Iranian defense minister emphasized the cultural and historical commonalities between Iran and Turkey, noting that the expansion of bilateral cooperation benefits the entire region and the Muslim world.

Referring to the developments in the Caucasus region, Ashtiani said that stability and security in West Asia, Central Asia and the Caucasus are of critical importance for both Iran and Turkey.

The Islamic Republic’s fundamental policy is to preserve the territorial integrity of all the states in the region, he asserted.

Ashtiani further urged respect for the political sovereignty of regional countries, stressing that the Iran-Turkey cooperation can be effective in creating stability and security in the region and countering separatist moves.

“We strongly believe that changing the historical and geopolitical borders in the region will be harmful and destructive to the regional security,” he said.

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