“The cooperation between the two countries and the negotiations between them before this meeting focused on their common positions regarding the issue of Palestine,” Raisi said at a press conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani in Tehran on Monday morning.
“We believe that the [Israeli] bombings [of Gaza] must be stopped immediately, a ceasefire be established, and aid be provided to the oppressed and powerful people of Gaza,” he said.
The Iranian president called the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip a “genocide”, particularly against children, carried out with the support of the United States and certain European countries.
Raisi further said the Zionist regime has collapsed, yet the Americans want to keep it alive. “This disgraceful defeat of the Zionist regime cannot be compensated by crime against humanity,” he asserted.
“Therefore, we cooperate with and support any action that is taken at the level of Islamic countries as well as regional and international countries to prevent the Zionist regime and the American ruling body from killing and massacring the innocent, oppressed, and powerful people of Gaza,” he added.
“I must thank the Iraqi government for its efforts for the Shalamcheh-Basra railway project, which is one of the most important corridors and routes, the establishment of which has many benefits for both countries,” he said.
Palestine crisis rooted in Israeli crimes: Sudani
For his part, the Iraqi prime minister said Iraq insists on its principled position with regard to the issue of Palestine and the Palestinian people’s struggle to achieve their freedom and establish an independent state with al-Quds as its capital.
“The recent crisis was not just born on October 7 this year, but it was the result of the Zionist regime’s criminal policies against the Palestinian nation, which took place with the killing and forced displacement of the Palestinian nation, settlement expansion policies, and desecration of the Al-Aqsa Mosque,” he said.
He added, “I would like to clearly state that the international community and institutions have failed to fulfill their duties and obligations” concerning Palestine.
Sudani also said the Iraqi authorities are doing their best to ensure security on the Iran-Iraq borders and will not allow any group or movement to pose a threat to Iran from Iraq’s soil.
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