President Raeisi Calls for Muslim Convergence Against Israeli Atrocities

Friday, 07 April 2023 5:38 PM 

Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi talks to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Tehran on July 19, 2022. (File photo by president.ir)

Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi has called for a convergence in the Muslim world against the atrocities of the Israeli regime as the occupation forces assaulted defenseless worshippers at al-Aqsa Mosque.

During a phone call with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday, Raeisi strongly slammed the recent attacks of the Israeli forces against al-Aqsa Mosque as a desecration of the holy place. He also slammed Israeli aggressions on Syria and Lebanon.

Raeisi reiterated the call for holding an emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to discuss ways to confront the brutal actions of the Israeli regime.

Stressing the need to respect the territorial integrity of regional countries, Raeisi said the most important approach to confront terrorism and separatism is to support the national sovereignty of states.

For his part, Erdogan called for Muslim unity to support Palestine. "The Islamic world should be united against Israel's attacks in Palestine," he said, according to the Turkish Presidency's Directorate of Communications.

Iran’s President Raeisi has called for an emergency meeting of the OIC to discuss the latest Israeli forces’ raid on Palestinian worshipers at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

Noting that reasonable thinking could prevent a new cycle of violence in Palestine, Erdogan said adopting common sense will be beneficial for all sides.

He also called on Tehran to continue efforts to preserve the status of holy places, including al-Aqsa Mosque, at international organizations.

The conversations came amid a new wave of Israeli hostilities against Palestinian people during the fasting month of Ramadan.

On Wednesday night, and for a second night in a row, heavily-armed Israeli forces stormed Muslims' third holiest site and removed peaceful worshippers who were staying at the site to observe Itikaf, a non-mandatory ritual usually held in Ramadan.

Videos from the raid on Tuesday show the occupation forces brutally beating defenseless worshipers with batons and riot guns. Dozens of Palestinians were wounded and arrested in the attack.

Iran says the international community should take effective and deterrent action against Israel.

Many Muslim countries and organizations have strongly condemned the latest aggression, calling on international bodies to stop Israeli crimes and protect the al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

The regime forces also launched attacks on targets in Lebanon and Gaza on Thursday following the firing of retaliatory rockets over the regime’s attacks on Palestinian worshippers inside al-Aqsa.

The OIC is set to hold an emergency, open-ended meeting of the Executive Committee at the level of Permanent Representatives, on Saturday at the headquarters of the General Secretariat in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to discuss the Israeli incursions and attacks on al-Aqsa Mosque.