Iran warned on Saturday of “the possibility” of an “uncontrollable explosion” in the Middle East if the United States continued to support Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza.
“As long as America supports the crimes of the Zionist regime and the continuation of the war… there is a possibility of an uncontrollable explosion of the situation in the region,” Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said during a telephone conversation with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, according to a statement released on Saturday Ministry statement.
The exchange came as the United States on Friday vetoed a Security Council resolution calling for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” in Gaza.
This text, which received 13 votes in favour, one against and one abstention (United Kingdom), was drafted by the United Arab Emirates following Antonio Guterres's unprecedented invocation of Article 99 of the United Nations Charter to draw the attention of the United Arab Emirates Council's attention on a matter that “could jeopardize the maintenance of international peace and security”.
“The use of Article 99 is a bold action on your part to maintain peace and is supported by world opinion,” Mr. Amir-Abdollahian told Mr. Guterres.
For the Iranian minister, the Israelis' “claim” that “it was Hamas that violated the ceasefire” that ended on December 1 is “completely false.”
Tehran is one of the main international backers of Hamas, which launched a bloody attack on Israeli soil on October 7 that Israeli authorities said killed 1,200 people.
In response, Israel launched an offensive in the Gaza Strip that killed 17,487 people, according to a recent report from the Hamas Ministry of Health on Friday.