Iran has called on members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to take a resolute stance against Israel in the aftermath of a deadly strike on Gaza’s al-Ahli Arab Hospital, which resulted in over 500 casualties.
Hossein Amirabdollahian, the Iranian Foreign Minister, made this plea during an emergency OIC meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, convened to address the escalating Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He proposed implementing an oil embargo and other sanctions against Israel and expelling all Israeli ambassadors.
According to an official statement, Amirabdollahian “calls for an immediate and comprehensive embargo on Israel by Islamic countries, including oil sanctions, and the expulsion of Israeli ambassadors if any relations have been established with the Zionist regime.”
Additionally, he recommended the establishment of a team of Islamic lawyers to document potential war crimes committed by Israel in Gaza. It’s worth noting that Iran has no diplomatic relations with Israel.
This call for action follows a devastating Israeli air raid on a hospital in Gaza, which resulted in a high number of casualties, as reported by Palestinians. Ashraf al-Qudra, the spokesperson for Gaza’s Health Ministry, stated that hundreds of lives were lost, and rescue efforts were ongoing to retrieve bodies from the wreckage.
The hospital strike has sparked widespread pro-Palestinian protests across the Middle East and North Africa. Demonstrations took place at Israeli embassies in Jordan, Turkey, and near the US embassy in Lebanon. Protests were also reported in Iran, Morocco, Tunisia, Yemen, and Iraq.
