Monitoring
ISLAMABAD: Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian has urged Islamic countries to take “practical measures” against the Israeli regime in the face of its “war crimes and genocide” in Gaza, including by imposing an oil embargo and expelling Israeli ambassadors.
Amirabdollahian made the remarks on the sidelines of an urgent meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in the Saudi city of Jeddah.
He emphasized the need for a strong statement from the summit condemning the Zionist regime’s atrocities in Gaza.
“This statement must highlight the immediate cessation of the war crimes and genocide perpetrated by the Zionist regime against the people of Gaza, as well as emphasize the inhumane siege imposed on them,” he told reporters.
“We have gathered today to take practical measures against the actions of the Zionist regime,” Iran’s top diplomat noted.
Referring to the bombing of a hospital in Gaza, Amirabdollahian explained that practical measures would mean that Islamic countries that have normalized their diplomatic relations with the Zionist regime immediately sever their ties, expel Israeli ambassadors, and halt all oil exports to the regime.
He also said that OIC member states agree on the urgent need for a ceasefire and the cessation of war crimes by the Zionist regime against the people of Gaza.
The Israeli regime has been relentlessly pounding besieged Gaza by air, land and sea for 12 straight days, killing at least 3,300 Palestinians. The regime bombed al-Ahli al-Arab Hospital, also known as the Baptist Hospital, in central Gaza on Tuesday and killed more than 500 Palestinians.