Iranian, Omani FMs call for immediate end to war in Gaza

TEHRAN -- Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his Omani counterpart Sayyid Badr Hamad al-Busaidi on Sunday highlighted the urgent need to stop the ongoing war in Gaza immediately, Iran's official news agency IRNA reported.

The two officials made the remarks at a joint press conference following their meeting earlier in the day in the Omani capital Muscat, during which they also called for the promotion of bilateral relations and the implementation of the agreements between the two countries, according to the report.

The Iranian foreign minister praised Oman for its positions against what he termed Israel's "genocide" in the Gaza Strip and its support for the rights of Palestinians, stressing that both sides agreed that the war in the Palestinian coastal enclave had to cease immediately and large-scale humanitarian aid should be sent to the region swiftly.

Amir-Abdollahian accused Israel of "pursuing a policy of warmongering and widening the scope of the war in the region" with the backing of the United States, stressing that the deadly Israeli missile attack on the consular section of the Iranian embassy in the Syrian capital Damascus on April 1 was "a new page in Israel's warmongering and dragging others into war in the region." He said Iran would not let its national security be compromised.

The Omani foreign minister pledged joint efforts with Iran to find solutions to the regional conflicts and tensions, saying that ending the suffering of Gazans and Israel's continued military attacks on Gaza was an issue of common concern.

He added that the only solution to the conflict and situation in Gaza was the establishment of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

A total of 33,175 Palestinians have been killed and 75,886 others were injured in Gaza since Israel began its military offensive against Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, the Gaza-based Health Ministry said on Sunday.

The conflict began after Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on southern Israel, which claimed the lives of around 1,200 Israelis, according to the Israeli authorities.