MOSCOW: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Friday that Israel should “stop killing innocent people,” and that its actions in the Middle East were backed by the United States and the European Union.
Pezeshkian was speaking to a Russian state TV reporter on the sidelines of an international meeting in Turkmenistan.
Israel in recent weeks has sharply escalated its assault on Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah movement, including by killing its top leaders, sending ground troops into southern Lebanon and bombing the capital Beirut.
An Israeli strike late on Thursday in the heart of Beirut killed 22 people and injured more than 100, Lebanese authorities said.
Israel says the operations in Lebanon aim to allow tens of thousands of its residents to return home after being forced to leave northern Israel due to Hezbollah rocket fire over the past year.
Hezbollah is firing at Israel in support of its ally Hamas, which triggered Israel’s ground offensive in Gaza following an Oct. 7 attack on communities in southern Israel.
“I would like to say to Israel: stop killing innocent people. Stop bombing residential buildings, people who have nothing anyway,” said Pezeshkian, accusing Israel of violating every kind of international agreement.
“It does this because it knows that the US and the European Union are behind it,” he said.
The Middle East remains on high alert for further escalation in the region, awaiting
Israel’s response to an Iranian missile strike on Oct. 1.
Iranian president says Israel, backed by West, is ‘killing innocent people’
https://arab.news/2gfke
Iranian president says Israel, backed by West, is ‘killing innocent people’
- Masoud Pezeshkian: ‘I would like to say to Israel: stop killing innocent people. Stop bombing residential buildings, people who have nothing anyway’
Israel police to deploy around Al-Aqsa for Ramadan, Palestinians report curbs
- The Al-Aqsa compound is a central symbol of Palestinian identity and also a frequent flashpoint
JERUSALEM: Israeli police said Monday that they would deploy in force around the Al-Aqsa Mosque during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins this week, as Palestinian officials accused Israel of imposing restrictions at the compound.
Over the course of the month of fasting and prayer, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians traditionally attend prayers at Al-Aqsa — Islam’s third-holiest site, located in east Jerusalem, which Israel captured in 1967 and later annexed.
Arad Braverman, a senior Jerusalem police officer, said forces would be deployed “day and night” across the compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, and in the surrounding area.
He said thousands of police would also be on duty for Friday prayers, which draw the largest crowds of Muslim worshippers.
Braverman said police had recommended issuing 10,000 permits for Palestinians from the occupied West Bank, who require special permission to enter Jerusalem.
He did not say whether age limits would apply, adding that the final number of people would be decided by the government.
The Palestinian Jerusalem Governorate said in a separate statement it had been informed that permits would again be restricted to men over 55 and women over 50, mirroring last year’s criteria.
It said Israeli authorities had blocked the Islamic Waqf — the Jordanian?run body administering the site — from carrying out routine preparations, including installing shade structures and setting up temporary medical clinics.
A Waqf source confirmed the restrictions and said 33 of its employees had been barred from entering the compound in the week before Ramadan.
The Al-Aqsa compound is a central symbol of Palestinian identity and also a frequent flashpoint.
Under long?standing arrangements, Jews may visit the compound — which they revere as the site of their second temple, destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD — but they are not permitted to pray there.
Israel says it is committed to maintaining this status quo, though Palestinians fear it is being eroded.
Braverman reiterated Monday that no changes were planned.
In recent years, a growing number of Jewish ultranationalists have challenged the prayer ban, including far?right politician Itamar Ben-Gvir, who prayed at the site while serving as national security minister in 2024 and 2025.
