“Due to the negative effects of insecurity in Iraq on Iran’s security, the Iranian officials have always tried to establish stability and security in Iraq,” Hassan Hanizadeh said in an interview with IRNA published on Saturday.

Qaani’s visit, according to the expert, occurred in a very important and sensitive situation.

He also believes that the trip took place in the framework of Tehran’s efforts to strengthen political stability in Iraq.

“Iran does not want a Shiite-Shiite or Shiite-Sunni or Arab-Kurdish conflict to take place in this brotherly and neighboring country and has made every effort to build harmony and empathy between political groups and tribes and followers of different religions in Iraq,” he reiterated.

The expert on Iraq added that the visit by the Quds Force chief was primarily intended to create harmony and empathy between all political spectrums of Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds.

“In fact, this trip was made to extinguish the fire of sedition that was ignited by the Americans,” Hanizadeh added.

He said, “The positive consequences (of the trip) will be revealed in the Iraqi political scene in the coming days and weeks.”

Hanizadeh noted that Iran hopes that all political factions in Iraq, including Sairoon (the political party led by Muqtada Sadr), will show goodwill and will not be influenced by the propaganda and seditious atmosphere created by the United States, the Zionist regime and some countries in the region.

Regarding the composition of the seats in the new Iraqi parliament, Hanizadeh said, “The majority faction in the Iraqi parliament needs 165 seats to form a government, which is half plus one seat. The Sairoon coalition, led by Muqtada Sadr, has 73 seats, the Sunni coalition, led by Mohammed al-Halbousi, has 37 seats, and the Kurdish coalition, including the Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, have a total of 61 seats.”

The regional affairs expert added that because of Muqtada Sadr’s differences with movements such as the State of Law bloc led by Nouri Maliki and Fatah alliance led by Hadi Ameri, Muqtada Sadr will naturally turn to Sunni and Kurdish movements by trying to attract all Iraqi tribes so that he can win the majority and take over the parliament.

“Muqtada Sadr is not willing to form the next government under the umbrella of the State of Law bloc and Fatah Alliance, so he is trying to form a triple alliance with the Sunnis and the Kurds in order to form the next government,” the expert predicted.

The veteran expert also pointed to cultural, religious and historical affinities between Iran and Iraq, saying that Iran’s spiritual influence in Iraq has always been a concern of Western countries, especially the United States and the Zionist regime, and at the same time, some Arab countries.

“In today’s Iraq, where there are divisions between the country’s political groups, the Islamic Republic encourages all religious, ethnic and political groups in the country to maintain unity and form a government of national unity,” Hanizadeh explained.

He also said that Iran wants to form a government in Baghdad that is the result of the will of the Iraqi people and that Iran does not want to escalate the differences between the Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish currents in Iraq.

He concluded by saying that while the Iraqi tribes are lining up against each other, the visit by Brigadier General Qaani took place with the aim of mediating between them.

“Given Qaani’s eloquence and knowledge of all Iraqi political movements, his visit to Baghdad was very effective in extinguishing the fire of sedition in this country,” the expert concluded.

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The officials, mostly affiliated with the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC), underlined that a new era has begun in Palestine in the wake of the 11-day war Israel waged on Gaza in May.

IRGC chief General Hossein Salami said the Palestinians emerged stronger from the war and they will get stronger by the day.

“A new Palestine has emerged, and the recent war imposed a strong Palestine on the calculations of the Zionist entity [Israel] from now on. The Palestinians will become stronger day by day, and the Israelis must realize that they cannot live in the midst of an enemy that has become so powerful,” General Salami told Russian state broadcaster RT.

He also said that “the Israelis should know that the era of attacks without a response has passed and that the Palestinians have become strong.”

Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh highlighted Israel’s failure in the war on Gaza.

“The Zionist entity has been defeated by the rockets and shells of the Palestinian people that they had made from the sewage pipes,” Hajizadeh told Yemeni news channel Al-Masirah.

He added that the Zionist entity must pack its bags and start looking for another area to live in, in America, Alaska or Europe, for example. Hajizadeh pointed out that the Zionist entity is fragile and the threats of the Mossad and the option of war against Iran are just nonsense, especially after their inability to face the Palestinian resistance.

The warning came after recent statements by some Israeli officials, including Israeli Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen, who recently told Al-Arabiya that Tel Aviv would not allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon.

Contrary to the remarks by Cohen, Iran is a signatory to the NPT and its nuclear program is being monitored by the IAEA.

Spokesman for the Iranian Armed Forces Brigadier General Abolfazl Shekarchi also issued a warning to the Israeli regime in an interview with Al-Masirah. He said Israel is ratcheting up war rhetoric against Iran out of desperation.

“The Zionist Mossad says its priority is Iran and the Zionist regime poses threats because it knows it is declining and weakening after successive defeats,” he said, adding, “The threats of the enemy and Mossad against Iran are of no value in reality because the enemy is now in pain and it is time to accept its collapse.”

The IRGC Quds Force Commander, General Esmail Qaani, also issued a stark warning to Israel, underlining that Israel should think of an imminent delivery of rule over the Occupied Lands to the Palestinians.

“I advise the Zionists to return to their houses that they have sold in Europe and America before these houses become more expensive,” Qaani said, according to Fars News.

“Many of the infrastructural facilities were within the reach of Palestinian missiles and could be targeted… but, they [Resistance groups] refused to target them because it will not take long for Palestinians to use these facilities,” the Quds force chief predicted.

According to Qaani, during the first three days of the Gaza war, the number of the missiles fired by the Resistance Front at the Occupied Territories was as much as the entire 22-day war which indicates the power of Resistance.

“We all witnessed how Gaza bravely defended all Palestinian lands, despite being under sanctions for 15 years,” the general said, adding, “The Palestinian Resistance acted in such a way that from the first day, the Zionist regime begged its friendly countries to call on the Palestinians to stop the war.”

“The era when the Zionist regime wanted to kill the Palestinians with weapons, bullets and guns has gone. Today, more than 3,000 missiles fired at the occupied territories were produced by the Palestinians themselves,” Qaani underlined.

From now on, the message of the Palestinian Resistance and the international resistance is that the Palestinians must make the necessary plans to govern the entire Palestinian land, including the land of 1948, the land of 1967 and the land of Gaza, and from now on Palestinians should prepare for ruling the entire Palestine, Qaani stated.

Nearly three weeks ago, Israel started an air raid campaign against the Gaza Strip that resulted in the death of hundreds of civilians. Facing mounting international pressure, Israel found itself obliged to put an end to its atrocities against the civilians in Gaza after 11 days of continued bombardment.

Michelle Bachelet, the UN rights chief, has said Israeli forces may have committed war crimes during the 11-day war. “Air strikes in such densely populated areas resulted in a high level of civilian fatalities and injuries, as well as the widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure,” Bachelet said.
She adding, “Such attacks may constitute war crimes.”

With overwhelming support from its members, the UN Human Rights Council passed a resolution calling for an independent inquiry into Israel’s crimes in Gaza, a move that was met with criticism from Israel.

During the war, Iran strongly supported the Palestinians and condemned Israeli crimes. After the war, Palestinian Resistance groups appreciated Iran for its support.

On Monday, five Palestinian resistance groups and movements sent letters and messages to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, thanking him for his firm stance on supporting the cause of Palestine.

The post Iran voices strong support for Palestine appeared first on Iran News Daily.

General Ismail Qaani’s remarks at a ceremony in Tehran Saturday on the 40th day since the passing away of his deputy Brigadier General Mohammad Hejazi came in the wake of the recent 11-day Israeli war on Gaza which marked an unprecedented show of force by the Palestinian resistance.

“In the first three days of the Palestinian war with the Zionist regime, we fired as many missiles at the occupied territories as the entire 22-day war. This is the power of the Resistance Front,” General Qaani said, referring to the war that began on December 27, 2008.

According to the general, “more than 3,000 missiles fired by the resistance into the occupied territories were produced in the same geographic area” which was pulverized in 2008 under a ferocious Israeli aerial campaign and came to be known as the Gaza massacre.

“From now on, the message of the resistance to the Palestinian children is that ‘your plans must be for the administration of the whole of Palestine’, and without a doubt, the Zionist regime must think of a time when this land will no longer be under their control,” General Qaani said.

“I advise all Zionists to go back and buy your own houses again before the houses you sold in Europe and America and elsewhere and came to the land of Palestine become more expensive than they are today.”

Israel launched airstrikes against Gaza on May 10, after Palestinian retaliation against violent raids on worshipers at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound and plans to force a number of Palestinian families out of their homes at Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of Jerusalem al-Quds.

Apparently caught off guard by unprecedented rocket barrages from Gaza, Israel announced a unilateral ceasefire on May 21, which Palestinian resistance groups accepted with Egyptian mediation.

“The Palestinian resistance acted in such a way that from the first day, the Zionist regime begged the intermediary countries to call and press for the Palestinian children to stop the war,” Qaani said.

The Palestinian resistance, he said, set preconditions and did not give up until dictating all its demands to Israel.

“It might be interesting to you because this is not being said in the media; the heaviest bullets of the Palestinian resistance were the last bullets fired at the occupied territories, which is a sign of the power, strength and the correct definition of resistance,” Qaani said.

The Quds Force chief also paid tribute to Gen. Hejazi and Iran’s legendary commander General Qassem Soleimani, saying they were key to the unprecedented strengthening of the Palestinian resistance.

Deputy Chief of the IRGC Quds Force General Mohammad Hejazi has passed away after years of suffering from the effects of chemical weapons used during the Iraqi war of the 1980s on Iran.

“General Hejazi was one of those who, along with Haj Qassem, put a lot of energy into filling the hands of the resistance, and a token of the services rendered by Martyr Hejazi and Haj Qassem was seen in this fierce resistance of the Palestinians against the Zionist regime,” he said.

“The Eminent Leader [Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei] has said that ‘Martyr Soleimani filled the hands of the children of the resistance’ and we saw how Gaza is defending the whole land of Palestine despite having been under sanctions for 15 years.”

Gen. Qaani said, “Today, all over the world, thanks to martyrs such as Haj Qassem Soleimani and Martyr Hejazi, everyone believes that resistance is the answer in every scene.”

“As someone who has been with the children of the resistance and seen and known their spirit, I must say that gone are the days when the Zionist regime wanted to destroy the Palestinian children with weapons, bullets and guns. Today, these children are producing in the occupied territories all the vast means which they used in the 12-day war.”

According to the Quds Force chief, “many infrastructural facilities in the occupied territories were within the range of Palestinian missiles” during the recent war, but the resistance groups did not hit them, knowing it will not take long before they use those facilities.

“The 12-day war proved that the heroic Palestinians must think about governing their entire land, and the Zionist regime must now think about leaving that land,” Qaani said.

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