Iran's president Pezeshkian arrives in Qatar, aims to rally support from Asian countries to fight Israeli 'crimes'

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian arrived in Qatar on Wednesday for bilateral talks and a summit, where he expressed hopes of rallying support from Asian countries to fight what he termed “Israeli crimes” in the Middle East.

During his first visit to Qatar as president, Pezeshkian condemned Israel for the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, which Iran attributes to Israel following Haniyeh’s death on July 31. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied involvement in the incident.

Since then, Israel has also killed Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, and initiated a limited military operation in southern Lebanon. In retaliation, Iran launched a barrage of missiles at Israel on Tuesday.

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“We also want security and peace. It was Israel that assassinated Haniyeh in Tehran,” Reuters quoted Pezeshkian as saying on his arrival in Qatar.

“Europeans and the U.S. said if we do not act, there will be a peace in Gaza in one week. We waited for them to have peace but they increased their killing”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose country faces conflicts against both Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, has said Israel will respond to Iran’s missile attack.

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“If the Zionist regime (Israel) does not stop its crimes, it will face harsher reactions,” Iranian state media quoted Pezeshkian as saying as he left for Qatar.

Pezeshkian told state television that the first goal in Doha was to discuss bilateral ties and sign agreements with the Qatari government. He will also attend a summit of the Asia Cooperation Dialogue.

“The second goal is to discuss how Asian countries can prevent Israeli crimes in the region…and prevent enemies from causing uproar in the Middle East,” Pezeshkian said.

Qatar has been one of the mediators working on a ceasefire deal in Gaza, although talks have stalled.

With inputs from agencies