The Iranian Foreign Minister warned the US against direct involvement in the conflict given the war in the Middle East. If the “genocide in Gaza continues, they will not be spared this fire,” Hussein Amirabdollahian said today, according to a transcript of his speech to a special session of the UN General Assembly in New York.
“I say frankly to American leaders and the military forces now managing the genocide in Palestine that we do not welcome the expansion and scale of the war in the region,” he said.
Amirabdollahian emphasized that Hamas was ready to release more civilians among the hostages following Iranian efforts. “At the same time, the world should support the release of 6,000 Palestinians detained in Israeli prisons,” Amirabdollahian said, according to an excerpt from the speech.
Thousands dead since Hamas attack
According to Israel, the Islamist Hamas holds more than 220 people in detention in the Gaza Strip, including babies, women and the elderly. They were deported to the Mediterranean region in the devastating attack on Israel on October 7, which has left more than 1,400 people dead.
There are also several dozen foreign citizens among the hostages. Since then, the Israeli military has attacked hundreds of targets in the densely populated coastal strip in order to defeat Hamas, which is also classified as a terrorist organization by the US and EU.