Alekhbariya TV
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi (left) shakes hands with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. It is the first time that Raisi has met the powerful Saudi crown prince.
CNN –
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is in the Saudi capital Riyadh for a major summit on the Israel-Hamas war, where Arab leaders pushed for an end to the conflict.
It is the first trip by an Iranian leader to Saudi Arabia in 11 years after the two countries restored diplomatic ties in March.
He shook hands with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), the heir to the Saudi throne and de facto ruler of the country.
At the summit, Raisi said all participants had gathered there in the name of the Islamic world to “save the Palestinians.”
“We have gathered here today to discuss the center of gravity of the Islamic world, namely the Palestinian cause, where we have witnessed the worst crimes in history… Today is a historic day for the heroic defense and support of Al-Aqsa Mosque,” he added.
Raisi said the history of Gaza is a “battle between two axes” and the world must decide which side it is on, “the side of the nobility or the side that destroys human generations.”
The Iranian president criticized the United States for supporting the Israeli offensive and said Washington was “the main partner in these crimes.”
In his opening speech, MBS said the kingdom “categorically rejects” the war facing Palestinians.
“This summit is taking place under extraordinary and painful circumstances,” he said.
“We categorically reject this brutal war faced by our brothers and sisters in Palestine… we renew our call for an immediate cessation of military operations.”
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said the US “bears responsibility for the lack of a political solution” as it has the greatest influence over Israel.
Raisi’s participation in the summit is significant amid speculation that Hezbollah – the Iran-backed Islamist movement with one of the most powerful paramilitary forces in the Middle East – could become a wildcard player in the war and trigger a wider regional conflict.
Since the end of the Syrian war, Hezbollah has increasingly aligned itself with Hamas. Hamas leaders have met with Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah several times in the last year, and the Gaza-based group’s deepening ties with Iran are widely known.
Since the beginning of Israel’s war with Hamas, Hezbollah’s political stance has clearly been supportive of Palestinian militants. It has sponsored rallies in support of Palestinian groups and strongly condemned Israel’s large-scale air strikes on Gaza.
A significant number of Arab heads of state and government are attending the emergency meeting on Saturday, titled “Joint Extraordinary Arab-Islamic Summit.”
According to a statement from the Saudi Foreign Ministry, the summit is being hosted by Saudi Arabia in response to the “unprecedented circumstances in Gaza.”
The aim of the meeting is to discuss ways to end “Israeli aggression against Gaza,” according to a statement from the Arab League ahead of the summit.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad also came to the summit, a further sign of Syria’s rehabilitation among Arab states, after attending a regional meeting in May.