(Tehran) Iran warned on Saturday of “the possibility” of “an uncontrollable explosion” in the Middle East if the United States continued to support Israel in the war against Hamas in Gaza.
“As long as the United States supports the crimes of the Zionist regime and the continuation of the war […] there is the possibility of an uncontrollable explosion of the situation in the region,” Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said during a telephone conversation with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, according to a statement of the ministry published on Saturday.
PHOTO ADEM ALTAN, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE ARCHIVES
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian
The exchange came as the United States vetoed a Security Council resolution on Friday calling for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” in Gaza.
This text, which received 13 votes in favor, one against and one abstention (United Kingdom), was prepared by the United Arab Emirates after Antonio Guterres’ unprecedented invocation of Article 99 of the United Nations Charter allowing the attention of the Council to be drawn to a matter which “could endanger the maintenance of international peace and security”.
“The use of Article 99 is a courageous action on your part to preserve peace, and it is supported by world opinion,” Mr. Amir-Abdollahian told Mr. Guterres.
For the Iranian minister, the “affirmation” by the Israelis that “it was Hamas which violated” the truce which ended on 1er December “is totally false”.
Tehran is one of the main international supporters of Hamas, which launched a bloody attack on October 7 on Israeli soil, during which 1,200 people were killed according to Israeli authorities.
In response, Israel launched an offensive in the Gaza Strip which left 17,487 dead, according to a latest report published Friday by the Hamas Ministry of Health.