The foreign minister of Iran has denounced what he calls the aggression of Israeli security forces in the holy city of Jerusalem and expressed Iran's solidarity with the Palestinians amid escalating violence.
Mohammad Javad Zarif says in a video message released on Tuesday in Arabic that the "attacks" on the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, one of the holiest sites in Islam, are "the greatest evidence there is of the discriminatory and criminal nature" of Israel.
Zarif blamed Israel for fueling "insecurity and instability in the region" and also proposed a "popular referendum" in the Palestinian territories as "the only just solution to the Palestinian issue" so that Palestinians may decide "their own fate."
Zarif affirmed that Iran "is always on the side of the Palestinians and supportive of their cause" and called the Palestinian conflict "the pivotal issue of the Islamic world and people."