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Iran rejects Israeli claims and denounces the regime’s ongoing assault on Gaza as genocide backed by Western complicity.
In response to the remarks made by one of the representatives of the Zionist regime in The Citizen newspaper dated 14 July, 2025, the embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Pretoria deems it necessary to share the following points with the vigilant people of South Africa and public opinion.
First and foremost, this statement is a response to the comments made by a representative of a terrorist and child-killing regime; a regime that, in just the past 20 months, has systematically massacred innocent people, including thousands of Palestinian women and children.
The ongoing daily genocide in the Gaza Strip committed by this regime is a stain on humanity and a clear sign of state fascism in the modern era.
The use of starvation as a weapon against the people of Gaza is another inhumane tactic employed by this apartheid entity, clearly in violation of international humanitarian law.
A regime that itself admits to possessing illegal nuclear arsenals, is not a member of the Non-Proliferation Treaty and escapes international oversight with the backing of certain Western powers, has not the slightest legitimacy to comment on other countries.
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The remarks of this Zionist official are a desperate attempt to divert public attention from the widespread crimes and ongoing genocide against the people of Palestine. This effort is not only baseless but also morally bankrupt and unacceptable.
In this context, it is worth recalling that the direct aggression by the Zionist terrorist regime against the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran on 13 June, 2025 – carried out with the support and coordination of the US – led to the martyrdom of more than 1 100 Iranian civilians, including women, children, university professors, doctors and members of the media and emergency services.
Over 6 000 others were injured, many of whom were women and children.
These illegal strikes also targeted Iran’s peaceful nuclear facilities, which are fully under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency and have always remained transparent and compliant with international obligations.
Iran has never sought nuclear weapons and continues to cooperate with global mechanisms.
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What has been done by the Zionist regime and the US against Iran constitutes a blatant act of aggression.
In accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter, Iran exercised its legitimate right to self-defence and responded to the aggression with calculated precision.
Iran’s determined response not only disrupted the Israel’s military calculus but reaffirmed its strategic resilience and commitment to international law.
The record of the Zionist regime speaks for itself.
Over the past eight decades, Israel has carried out more than 3 000 terrorist operations inside and outside of the occupied territories.
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As a result of its crimes, more than seven million Palestinians have been displaced and made refugees, hundreds of thousands have been killed and over one million Palestinians have been imprisoned.
In just the past 21 months, nearly 200 000 individuals – mostly women and children – have been killed or wounded in Gaza.
Moreover, over 40 000 residential areas and infrastructure sites have been destroyed or severely damaged.
Iran has always defended the rights of all nations to self-determination and has called for a fair and democratic resolution to the Palestinian crisis through a referendum involving all original inhabitants of the land, regardless of religion or ethnicity.
In this regard, Iran is the voice of the oppressed – not seeking imposition, but justice.
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Not seeking domination, but equity.
The Israel regime attempts to reverse the roles of oppressor and oppressed through false victimhood, but its hideous face is already known to the world and history will not tolerate such deception.
