Iran President Ebrahim Raisi called Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) on Wednesday to discuss the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel in the first telephone call between the two leaders since Tehran and Riyadh resumed ties.
The two leaders’ talked as Israel carried out air strikes across the Gaza Strip in direct retaliation for the deadly invasion of the Jewish state.
Raisi and the Saudi crown prince discussed the “need to end war crimes against Palestine,” Iranian state media said, even as Iranian security officials stand accused of helping the terrorist organization Hamas plan the strike for weeks.
MBS emphasized the Kingdom is making every possible effort to engage with international and regional parties in order to halt the current escalation, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.
According to SPA, the Saudi leader reaffirmed the Kingdom’s stance against targeting civilians in any way and the loss of innocent lives.
He stressed the importance of respecting the principles of international humanitarian law, reportedly expressing concern about the dire humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip and the impact on civilians.
Earlier in the day Raisi also demanded Islamic and Arab countries cooperate in confronting Israel as it responds to Hamas attacks.
File/Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, left, shakes hands with his Saudi Arabian counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, right, and Chinese counterpart Qin Gang in Beijing Thursday, April 6, 2023. (Iran Foreign Ministry)
“Today, all the Islamic and Arab countries and all the free people of the world must reach a serious convergence and cooperation in the path of stopping the crimes of the Zionist regime against the oppressed Palestinian nation,” Raisi told his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad in a phone call, AFP reports.
Raisi stated that in order to stop the “genocide of the Palestinians by the Zionists”, Iran will coordinate with Islamic countries “as soon as possible”, the Iranian presidency website said on Thursday.
Iran, which backs Hamas, on Saturday celebrated the assault in Israel, though it insisted it was not involved in it.
Meanwhile President Joe Biden sent a warning to Iran of his own amid reports of their continued support of Hamas although he stopped short of directly implicating Iran in the attacks.
As Breitbart News reported, the China-brokered resumption of diplomatic relationships between Saudi Arabia and Iran in March came as a major milestone in Beijing’s ascension as a global power, and the corresponding sunset of American influence under President Joe Biden.
Riyadh severed ties with Tehran in 2016 after protesters invaded Saudi diplomatic posts in Iran, following Saudi Arabia’s execution of a prominent Shia scholar.