Iran warns against ethnic cleansing of Palestinians as Netanyahu visits US

AFP :

Iran on Monday condemned US President Donald Trump’s proposal to relocate Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, warning it would amount to “ethnic cleansing.”
Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said the international community should help Palestinians “secure their right to self-determination… rather than pushing for other ideas that would be tantamount to ethnic cleansing.”
The remarks from Baqaei come after Trump repeatedly floated an idea to “clean out” the Gaza Strip and move its population to Egypt and Jordan.
“Cleaning out Gaza… is part of colonial erasure of [the] Gaza Strip and the whole Palestine,” Baqaei said, adding that “no third party” can decide on the future of the Palestinian territory.
Iran, which does not recognize Israel, has made support for the Palestinian cause one of the pillars of its foreign policy since the victory of Islamic Revolution in 1979.
Iran and Israel, enemies for years, saw their first direct exchange of fire during the war in Gaza.
Iran provides financial and military backing for Hamas, but insists it and the other groups Tehran supports act independently.
Iranian Vice President Mohammad Javad Zarif recently said that Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 had “undermined” nuclear negotiations between Iran and the United States.
More medical evacuees are set to leave the Gaza Strip, while talks to extend a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas are due to get under way.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to begin discussions on the second phase of the ceasefire as he visits Washington, DC for talks with US officials and President Donald Trump.