Iran FM, Saudi counterpart urge for OIC meeting on Gaza

TEHRAN :– The foreign ministers of Iran and Saudi Arabia weighed plans for an emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to address the heinous crimes the Zionist regime is committing against Palestinians in the Gaza S

In a telephone conversation on Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his Saudi counterpart Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud called for concerted efforts to end the Israeli atrocities against Palestinians, Iranian Tasnim News Agency reported.

Pointing to his diplomatic efforts, including his recent negotiations with the secretary general of the OIC, Amir-Abdollahian said he has proposed the idea of holding an emergency meeting of the OIC foreign ministers to address the Gaza crisis.

The top Saudi diplomat welcomed the proposal for the emergency meeting on plans to stop the Israeli regime’s genocidal crimes in Gaza and the West Bank.

The two sides agreed to hold further consultations with the other foreign ministers about the issue.

The Iranian foreign minister then lashed out at the US for sponsoring the Zionist crimes in Gaza and giving Israel the green light for strikes on Rafah.

“We do not regard war as the solution, but if a political solution is not found immediately, the negative consequences of continuation of acts of genocide by the Israeli regime for regional security and stability will be inevitable,” Amir-Abdollahian warned.

For his part, bin Farhan Al Saud denounced the Israeli prime minister’s disregard for the international calls for the cessation of war, saying the Zionist official has even ignored the stances and pressures from the sponsors of the regime.

Elsewhere in the telephone conversation, the Iranian and Saudi ministers called for the promotion of economic and trade cooperation between the two Muslim countries, particularly between their private sectors.

When the Iranian foreign minister asked the Saudi counterpart about the delay in Umrah Haj flights for Iranian pilgrims, bin Farhan responded that, “There is no political issue regarding the presence of Iranians in the Umrah Hajj , and the technical problem in the Saudi Airlines Organization is in the final step.”

The Saudi foreign minister further expressed hope for resuming the Umrah pilgrimage for Iranian pilgrims to Mecca and Medina.

(MNA)