The risk that the war between Israel and Hamas will expand in the Middle East region dominated a meeting in Ankara of the foreign ministers of Iran and Turkey this Wednesday, in which both demanded an early truce to put an end to the deaths in the Gaza Strip.
“We hope that a ceasefire will come soon and that the genocide and violence of the United States and Israel will end,” said the head of Iranian diplomacy, Hosein Amir Abdolahian, at a press conference alongside his Turkish counterpart, Hakan. Fidan.
Tehran’s envoy even hinted that his country could intervene in the conflict if an agreement is not reached soon to end Israel’s bombing of Gaza, although he did not detail what the eventual intervention would consist of.
“If attacks on women and children continue, the cost they will pay will be very high,” he warned.
“It is our region, our home”
“This is our region, our home, and we will not wait for anyone’s permission to deal with what happens in our home,” he added in a veiled threat.
Abdolahian recalled the strength of the Islamist organization Hezbollah, which operates from Lebanon with the support of Tehran, and reproached the “Zionist regime” for having proposed “ending Hezbollah.”
The Shiite militia “has become one of the strongest movements against the occupation (of Palestine) and the Zionist regime,” the Iranian minister stressed.
He stressed, however, that his country will first try to exhaust all diplomatic resources to achieve the end of the war declared by Israel against Hamas after the unprecedented attack by that militia on Israel on October 7, something to which his host, Hakan Fidan.
“Iranian friends have said that if conditions do not change, others will interfere, and we cannot let that happen,” Fidan stressed, while attacking the European Union (EU), accusing it of not doing enough to help the Palestinians. .
“The EU does not want to hear about a ceasefire”
“We work for a ceasefire and for humanitarian aid. But the EU does not want to hear about a ceasefire. They do nothing for humanitarian aid. “They stand alongside the United States and are in favor of Israel deciding when to end (the war),” she indicated.
He explained that he agreed with Abdolahian that the Gaza war “should not extend to Syria” and that the best thing would be to call an international conference to prevent “the human catastrophe in Gaza from dragging all countries in the region into a war.”
The Turkish minister reiterated the willingness of his Government to assume responsibilities as a guarantor power for the security of Palestine in a hypothetical peace agreement, while Abdolahian detailed the diplomatic efforts that his country is making in the region.
“We have made proposals to Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and we hope that we can carry them out and put an end to the slaughter,” the Iranian declared.
He recalled that the day before (Tuesday) he met in Doha with senior Qatari officials and with political leaders of Hamas, with whom he agreed that “if war crimes are not put to an end as soon as possible, the situation will get out of hand.” to all parties involved.”
“If things continue like this, the resistance (referring to Hamas) could react in another unexpected way and things could get out of control,” Abdolahian insisted.
Both ministers talked about a possible visit to Turkey by the Iranian president, Ebrahim Raisí, although they did not specify dates.
After informing the press of their meeting, Abdolahian and Fidan also met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
By Nadeem Faisal Baiga
