Soltani made the comment on Monday as he attended a weekly live broadcast hosted by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Ambassadors of Palestine, Lebanon and Syria to Caracas were also present in the program aired on Venezuela’s national TV.
The Iranian envoy said that Iran’s missile launch on Israel on October 1 was in response to “cries of innocent Palestinian children who have been martyred by Israel.”
He explained that Iran delayed its response to Israel’s July assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran for nearly two months in order to give a chance to talks over a ceasefire in Gaza.
No ceasefire was established in Gaza, and Israel instead intensified attacks and assassinated Lebanon’s Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and his companions, who had supported Palestine, Soltani said, adding that Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu also threatened Iran with military action.
The Iranian envoy further said that his country gave a response to Israeli aggression, after the UN Security Council even failed to condemn or sanction the regime for assassinating Haniyeh on Iranian soil.
He also criticized mainstream media for portraying Iran’s response as an attack on Israel, saying that theses media outlets are under the influence of Zionism.
He noted that Zionism is different from Judaism, adding that Zionism advocates racism and exploits Judaism to justify its crimes.
IRNA