Iranian, Saudi foreign ministers discuss Israeli war on Gaza

By Syed Zafar Mehdi

TEHRAN, Iran (AA) – Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Tuesday called for "effective steps" to "end the genocide" in the Gaza Strip amid the deadly Israeli offensive on the Palestinian enclave.

The top diplomat made the remarks in a meeting with his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud in the port city of Jeddah on the sidelines of an extraordinary meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on the situation in Gaza.

Amir-Abdollahian thanked the top Saudi diplomat for "accepting Iran's proposal" to hold an OIC extraordinary summit while pointing to the "common positions" of the two countries on Palestine, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

He said "effective steps" must be taken to support Gaza’s population, which has been reeling under Israeli attacks since Oct. 7.

The death toll of Palestinians in the besieged territory continues to mount, now above 30,600, including around 14,000 children. The humanitarian situation also remains grave, with many children dying of hunger.

The Iranian official expressed satisfaction with the process of cooperation between Tehran and Riyadh and voiced his country's readiness to expand cooperation.

He called the strengthening of economic and commercial relations and facilitating business activities between the two sides "an important priority.”

Bin Farhan, for his part, stressed the importance of the Jeddah summit in helping end Israel's war on the Palestinians in Gaza, the statement said. He also called for collective efforts by Islamic countries to end the Israeli war in Gaza.

Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to restore diplomatic ties last March after marathon negotiations mediated by Iraq, Oman, and Iraq.

The rapprochement came seven years after the two countries severed ties over mob attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi visited Riyadh in November last year to attend an Arab-Islamic summit in what was the first official visit by an Iranian leader to the Arab country in more than a decade.