Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has slammed the United States over its supply of internationally-banned munitions, like white phosphorus bombs, to Israel to be used against Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip.
“[We are] unfortunately facing a situation, where Americans dispatch all sorts of arms, including phosphorous and prohibited weapons, on a daily basis from Cyprus or directly from all their bases throughout the [West Asia] region to Tel Aviv. Such bombs are dropped on the oppressed and resilient people of Gaza,” Amir-Abdollahian told reporters in the Swiss city of Geneva on Wednesday.
He went on to denounce Washington’s hypocrisy and duplicity vis-à-vis the Israeli onslaught against the Gaza Strip.
“America has been mostly posing as if it is looking for the dispatch of humanitarian aid [to Gaza]; but no major development has taken place in reality,” the top Iranian diplomat pointed out.
Amir-Abdollahian also dismissed latest remarks by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that Washington is seeking to increase the daily number of aid trucks to at least 500 for Gaza, stating that surveys show that between 25 and 50 trucks enter the territory, of which two thirds are drinking water and not food, medical supplies or basic commodities.
Reacting to the concurrent visit of Israeli foreign minister Eli Cohen to Geneva, Amir-Abdollahian said that the 51-year-old diplomat, accompanied by family members of some Israeli captives held in Gaza, has hastily come to Switzerland to play the victim.
“During the meeting with the head of the political bureau of Hamas in Doha three weeks ago, [Ismail] Haniyeh voiced his agreement with the immediate release of civilians being held by Hamas,” he said, adding that this comes as the Israeli side, regardless of negotiations, exchange of messages and efforts to stop the war in the region, “has not accepted the conditions to speed up the release of prisoners and civilians being held in Gaza, and is instead trying to prolong the war and genocide in Gaza under such a pretext.”
Amir-Abdollahian also highlighted that Iran is seriously pursing the wholesale dispatch of humanitarian aid to Gaza, and that he is going to discuss the matter with officials from the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) during his stay in Geneva.
Israel has launched relentless air and ground attacks on the coastal territory, including hospitals, residences, and houses of worship, since Palestinian resistance movements launched their surprise attack, dubbed Operation al-Aqsa Storm, against the regime on October 7.
At least 11,320 Palestinians have been killed, including 4,650 children and 3,145 women. More than 29,000 individuals have sustained injuries as well.
According to the Ministry of Health, 3,500 citizens are still missing or under the rubble, including 1,740 children.
