US, its allies major hurdle to halting Israeli atrocities in Gaza: Iran

Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian has termed the United States and “some of its allies” as primary impediments to attempts to stop the killing of Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip.

He said while speaking at the Tehran International Conference on Palestine which was organised to rally support for the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, Tehran Times reported.

Hamas on October 7 killed about 1,140 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.

Israel responded with a withering offensive that has killed more than 20,000 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the territory's health ministry.

The one-day Tehran International Conference on Palestine aimed to lift the blockade of Gaza and ensure more humanitarian aid for the coastal territory, said the Iran’s foreign ministry in a statement.

The conference, as part of Iran's diplomatic efforts to back the Palestinians, was attended by officials, political, religious, media figures and scholars from more than 50 countries including Pakistan, the statement added.

The Iranian foreign minister chastised the United Nations Security Council for failing to take serious action to cease Israel’s violence in the occupied territories.

He stated that the participants at the Tehran meeting shared the ultimate objective of putting an end to the harshness of Israel’s “fake, apartheid, and occupying” regime.

Amir Abdollahian asserted that although the UN Security Council has passed a resolution calling for more humanitarian aid to be sent to the Gaza Strip, no concrete steps have been taken to put an end to Israel’s atrocities.

Speaking at the international moot, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi asserted that the US and the “Zionist regime” should be brought to trial for their role in the Gaza genocide.

Raisi also expressed gratitude to representatives from various countries for their solidarity on the Palestinian cause.

He underscored the global focus on Palestine, condemning the violations of human rights in Gaza by a ruling system that lacks ethical and legal considerations.

"The inability and inefficacy of international organisations has become clear to everyone in the world," Raisi told the Tehran conference.

"The Security Council... officially announced its desperation, and said that there is nothing we can do," he said.

"International organisations have also announced that there is nothing we can do."

Aid groups and international organisations have repeatedly warned of "catastrophic" conditions in Gaza, calling for a humanitarian ceasefire in the 11-week war.

Also on Saturday, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the conflict in Gaza has "exposed" the "false human rights claims" by the United States and other Western allies of Israel.