Speaking at a press conference in Tehran on Sunday, Esmaeil Baghaei referred to developments in occupied Palestine, especially the Gaza Strip, saying, “One of the issues that cannot be ignored is the developments taking place in occupied Palestine. In fact, the Zionist regime, in advancing its campaign of genocide against the Palestinians, is also using winter conditions as a tool to intensify the suffering of the people of Gaza.”

Describing the humanitarian situation in Gaza as very catastrophic, Baghaei said the current conditions pain the conscience of every free person.

“Over the past two to three weeks, a large number of Palestinians, especially women and children, have lost their lives due to floods, rain, and extreme cold, and the Palestinian people throughout Gaza continue to struggle with all kinds of crimes committed by the Zionist regime.”

He added that the situation in the West Bank is not much better, and in this region, the destruction of Palestinian homes, widespread arrests, torture in prisons, and attacks and aggressions by settlers against the Palestinian people continue.

Emphasizing the need for the international community to pay attention to the Palestinian issue, the Foreign Ministry spokesperson said expressing these facts is in fact a cry for humanity.

“Islamic countries have a duty and mission to take practical measures to stop these crimes. The entire international community also has a responsibility towards this issue, because the issue of Palestine is not merely an Arab, regional, or Islamic issue, but rather a contemporary human issue.”

Elsewhere in the press conference, in response to a question about the US’s refusal to participate in the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of its human rights situation at the UN Human Rights Council for the second time and the contradiction of this action with the country’s annual reports on the human rights situation in other countries, Baghaei said this action shows that the US really has no belief in the slogans it raises regarding human rights.

“Of course, one should not be too surprised by this approach, because the US Secretary of State also announced just a few days ago that “do not talk about the law to someone with a sword in their hand.’ This comment shows the height of irresponsibility of the US ruling body.”

He added that US officials consider themselves the world’s superior power and, accordingly, do not attach any value to international law and international rules; rules that they themselves have repeatedly used as tools.”

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Referring to the US withdrawal from international institutions, the Foreign Ministry spokesman said, “Over the past two years, the US has withdrawn from many international documents and organizations and has in a way tried to separate its position from recognized international norms.”

Referring to Washington’s approach towards the International Criminal Court, he said, “We also witness part of the same policy in the US approach towards the ICC. The US insistence on keeping the Zionist regime immune from any prosecution for committing war crimes and genocide is part of this policy.”

Baghaei emphasized that these developments should cause the international community, especially European countries that claim to protect the rule of law, to adopt more realistic positions towards the US approaches.

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