In Pakistan, Iran President Ebrahim Raisi’s warning to Israel: ‘If Zionist regime attacks…’
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, during his three-day visit to Pakistan, issued a warning to Israel on Tuesday saying an attack on Iranian territory would lead to a radical change in dynamics and it might not be certain if anything would be left of the “Zionist regime”.
Ebrahim Raisi, who began his visit on Monday, was speaking at Lahore University, as reported by Iran-based Mehr News.
“If the Zionist regime once again makes a mistake and attacks the sacred land of Iran, the situation will be different, and it is not clear whether anything will remain of this regime,” Ebrahim Raisi was quoted as saying by IRNA.
Raisi said Tehran’s counterstrike on Israel on April 13, retaliating the latter’s April 1 attack on the Iranian consulate, was how the country punished the regime.
“The great Iranian nation punished the Zionist regime for the attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, which was against all international laws,” he said.
On April 13, Iran launched a series of missiles and drones targeting Israel, citing retaliation for Israel’s alleged lethal strike on its embassy compound in Damascus on April 1. However, the majority of these weapons were intercepted and neutralised.
Explosions were heard on Friday over the Iranian city of Isfahan, carried out by Israel as reported by Reuters, but Iran downplayed the attack saying it would not retaliate.
Raisi added, “The people of Iran and Pakistan both defend the oppressed Palestinian nation. Islamic Iran will continue to defend the resistance and the oppressed nation of Palestine with pride.”
The Iranian president also attacked the West for claiming to defend human rights while Israel continued to attack Gaza, where over 34,000 Palestinians have died so far. He also accused the US of arresting dozens of college students across the country for attending pro-Palestine protests, Iranian news agencies reported.
“Today, the biggest violators of human rights are Americans and Westerners as supporters of the Zionist regime in its child-killing and genocide. The liberation of Quds is the number one question of humankind. The resistance of the people of Gaza will lead to the liberation of the Holy Quds and Palestine,” Raisi said.
Iran and Pakistan ties
In a bid to repair relations after the two nations carried out military strikes on each other earlier this year, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Raisi signed eight agreements in Islamabad. These included the establishment of a joint special economic zone, as reported by the state-owned Associated Press of Pakistan on Monday.
Additionally, both leaders agreed in principle to outlaw terrorist organisations operating within each other’s territories and to collaborate on counterterrorism efforts, Pakistan’s Interior Ministry said in a statement.
During a joint press briefing on Monday, Raisi emphasised the need for Pakistan and Iran to enhance bilateral trade to approximately $10 billion within the next three to four years.