WANA (Feb 09) – Iran’s Foreign Minister, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, continued his consultations on developments in the occupied Palestinian territories and the joint Israeli-American plan for the forced displacement of Palestinians. In this context, he held a phone conversation with Hissein Brahim Taha, the Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

 

Condemning the Israeli-American plan for the ethnic cleansing of Gaza and the eradication of Palestine, the Iranian Foreign Minister stressed the urgent need for a unified and coordinated stance by the Islamic Ummah to thwart this sinister scheme.

 

Araghchi reminded Islamic countries of their grave responsibility to defend the fundamental and legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, particularly their right to self-determination and secure life in their homeland. He emphasized that the forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza is not only a grave crime tantamount to genocide, but also a threat to regional and global stability. He called on the OIC to swiftly convene an extraordinary meeting of foreign ministers to adopt decisive and effective measures in defense of Palestinian rights.

 

 

Referring to his intensive consultations with the foreign ministers of several Arab and Islamic countries, Araghchi urged the OIC Secretary-General to make maximum efforts to organize the ministerial meeting as soon as possible.

 

The OIC Secretary-General, while strongly condemning crimes committed against the Palestinian people, rejected the forced displacement of Gazans as completely unacceptable.

 

Welcoming Iran’s proposal to hold an extraordinary consultative meeting of OIC foreign ministers, he stated that he would consult with member states on this matter.