Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (L) meets with head of the political bureau of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, in Doha, Qatar, on October 14, 2023. (via Iran’s Foreign Ministry)

Iran’s foreign minister has praised the ongoing anti-Israeli operation launched by the Gaza Strip-based Palestinian resistance movements, saying it proves that unlike what some people mistakenly think Palestine is alive.

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian made the remarks in a Saturday meeting with head of the political bureau of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, in the Qatari capital city of Doha.

Noting that the issue of Palestine is the most important issue for the Muslim world, Iran’s top diplomat said, Supporting Palestine is a religious, humane and moral responsibility.

Stressing the spontaneous design and implementation of Operation al-Aqsa Storm by the Gaza-based resistance groups, Iran’s foreign minister said the operation proved that unlike what some people erroneously thought, Palestine is alive.

Hamas and its fellow Gaza-based resistance movement, Islamic Jihad, started the operation last Saturday, moving deep inside the occupied territories, killing around 1,200 Israeli forces and illegal settlers, and taking many others captive.

Analysts say the operation, the biggest to be conducted by Palestinians against the regime in years, caught Tel Aviv and its supporters off guard, disproving their calculations concerning the Palestinian nation and its capabilities.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Amir-Abdollahian said the Palestinians’ operation also proved that the process of normalization of some countries’ relations with Israel cannot weaken the strong will of the Palestinian nation in pursuing its natural, humane and legal rights.

Amir-Abdollahian was referring to normalization of relations between some regional countries, which previously claimed to be supporters of the Palestinian nation, and the Israeli regime through US-mediated détente deals starting in 2020. Palestinians and their supporters have called the deals a stab in the back of Palestine and its cause, asserting that such normalization agreements can never break down Palestinians’ determination to reclaim their rights.

Explaining about the measures taken by Iran on regional and international levels to stop the Zionist regime’s savage attacks against the oppressed people of Gaza, Iran’s foreign minister said, We have ... proposed holding of an extraordinary meeting of the foreign ministers of Islamic countries ... and we back any initiative by Muslim countries in support of the Palestinian nation.

The Islamic Republic of Iran will never back down on its principles and values in support of the Palestinian nation, Iran’s foreign minister said.

He noted that Operation al-Aqsa Storm was the Palestinian nation’s natural reaction to continued crimes and provocative moves by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s extremist cabinet.

If the Zionist regime’s war crimes continue in Gaza, any possibility in the region can be taken into consideration and the Islamic Republic of Iran will continue its efforts to stop the war crimes committed by the Zionists, Amir-Abdollahian said.

The Israeli regime has responded to the Palestinians’ operation by waging a long war on the Gaza Strip, for which it has called up an unprecedented 300,000 reservists. The war has so far killed close to 2,300 Palestinians and injured nearly 10,000 others.

Haniyeh, for his part, said Operation al-Aqsa Storm was a natural reaction to the Israeli regime’s crimes against the Palestinian nation during past decades and its increasing violations of the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in recent months.

He added that the crimes committed by the Zionist regime in Gaza prove Israelis helplessness and confusion in the face of the powerful blow they have been dealt by Palestinian resistance fighters.

Haniyeh said despite the regime’s war crimes and destruction of Gaza’s homes, mosques and hospitals, the Palestinian resistance remains powerful and strong.