“There is no doubt about the necessity of establishing a ceasefire [in Gaza]. The world is fed up with more than 10 months of acts of brutality and audacity of the Israeli regime and cannot accept this amount of crime anymore,” Kanaani said.
He added that Iran welcomes any sincere effort to establish a ceasefire in the war-stricken Gaza Strip and was among the leading countries that used all its capacities to stop the Israeli regime’s “killing machine”.
Iran believes that the US lacks the competence to pursue the ceasefire negotiations as it is one of the Israeli regime’s supporters and is not committed to preserving international security and peace, the spokesman emphasized.
“The US has so far proved that it is a party to the war and killing,” Kanaani said.
He added that the ceasefire talks have been held between Palestinian groups and the Israeli regime, which has so far killed more than 40,000 Palestinians.
As announced by the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, which is the main Palestinian negotiating party, the Israeli regime has no intention to establish a ceasefire in Gaza, he explained.
“Therefore, the ball is in the court of Israel and the US.”
Kanaani said, “Iran’s response to the assassination of Martyr Haniyeh as an official guest of Iran and the issue of the ceasefire negotiations in Gaza are two separate issues.”
“We have been and are the strongest and most important regional and international supporter of the cessation of war and [establishment of] ceasefire and we still support any action in this regard,” he added.
He, however, emphasized that the ceasefire negotiations have nothing to do with Iran’s “legitimate and legal right to punish the aggressor”.
Iran has the right to defend its security and territorial integrity in accordance with the United Nations Charter and has been committed to political and legal approaches in this regard, the spokesman stressed.
He expressed regret that the Security Council has failed to fulfill its duty vis-à-vis the Israeli regime, adding, “We told our friends that we do not seek to intensify insecurity in the region but we insist on Iran’s legal right to punish the aggressor and we will use it at the appropriate time.”
Elsewhere in his remarks, Kanaani responded to a question about some countries’ mediatory role to dissuade Iran from giving a response to the Israeli regime.
He said, “If the international community and the Security Council were able and had shown in practice that they have the necessary will and ability to maintain regional and international peace in the face of the Zionist regime, we would not have witnessed more than 10 months of crimes in Gaza.”
He rejected the “irrational” request made by some countries from Iran to exercise self-restraint under the circumstances that Israel is posing a serious threat to regional peace and security.
“We are facing a rogue regime that does not adhere to any international regulations. The impunity of this regime is a threat to regional and international peace and security,” the Iranian spokesman emphasized.
Kanaani reiterated the country’s “inherent and legitimate” right to respond to Israel’s act of aggression, saying, “This right will not be lost under any circumstances”.
He stressed that the Israeli regime’s assassination of the Hamas leader was a blatant violation of international law.
It is a definite principle for Iran to support Palestine, he said, adding that the punishment of the aggressor is an action that will promote regional peace and stability and help the settlement of the Palestinian issue.
