Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has called on countries with ancient cultures and civilizations to work together to stop the Israeli aggression against the Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip and to bring the Israeli officials to justice for their war crimes.
Amir-Abdollahian made the remarks at the Ancient Civilizations Forum in Tehran on Thursday.
He described the situation in Gaza as “distressing” and denounced the Israeli occupation and confiscation of Palestinian lands for the past seven decades.
He also criticized the silence of the self-proclaimed defenders of human rights in the face of the atrocities and brutalities committed by the “fake” Israeli regime.
He slammed the Israeli aerial and ground aggression that has killed at least 20,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, injured injury of 52,586 others, and displaced most of Palestinians living in the besieged territory.
Amir-Abdollahian also condemned Israel’s intentional destruction of Gaza’s heritage sites and its attempts to erase the Islamic identity of the occupied Old City of al-Quds.
“Countries with ancient civilians are expected to condemn such crimes, and utilize all means at their disposal to stop the current situation and put war criminals on trial at an international court of law,” the Iranian minister noted.
He also condemned the recent desecration of the Holy Quran and other religious scriptures in some European countries and urged the governments to play their role in preserving the civilized, cultural, and religious interaction and understanding among nations by criminalizing and punishing such actions.
He stated that countries with rich histories of culture and civilization have the responsibility to counter the discourse of supremacy, dominance, exclusivity, and racism.
He pointed out that the international community is still suffering from the consequences of the discourse of domination and violence, the instrumentalization of international principles, and the double standards.
The Ancient Civilizations Forum, which consists of the Iran, Armenia, Italy, Bolivia, Peru, China, Iraq, Egypt, Mexico, and Greece, was established in 2017. Iran took over the rotating chairmanship of the forum and hosted the meeting in 2023.
