The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) of Iran issued a statement condemning the Israeli attack on protesters during the so-called Land Day, which saw least 17 killed and over 1,400 protesters injured.
"The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, as the Iranian nation's powerful arm, will spare no effort to help the Muslim people of Palestine and will further activate its available capacities to restore Palestinians' rights," according to the statement.
Dubbed "the Great March of Return," the marches that began on Friday are planned to last several weeks, culminating on May 15 to mark Nakba Day (Day of Catastrophe), the day that Israel was created, according to the website.
The IRGC statement condemned the US and the EU for their support of Israel and said that the attack on unarmed protesters proves that Israel is afraid of a new intifada (uprising). IRGC statements called for an immediate reaction to what it termed Israeli ‘crimes' and the taking of practical steps to restore the rights of Palestinians.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohhamad Javad Zarif also condemned the attack in his Twitter account.
"On the eve of Passover (of all days), which commemorates God liberating Prophet Moses and his people from tyranny, Zionist tyrants murder peaceful Palestinian protesters — whose land they have stolen — as they march to escape their cruel and inhuman apartheid bondage. Shameful," Zarif tweeted.
On the eve of Passover (of all days), which commemorates God liberating Prophet Moses and his people from tyranny, Zionist tyrants murder peaceful Palestinian protesters-whose land they have stolen-as they march to escape their cruel and inhuman apartheid bondage. #Shameful. pic.twitter.com/NhysDXaM5q
— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) March 31, 2018
Iran Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi condemned the Israeli attack, calling on Muslim states to unite against Israel instead of fighting each other.
"At this sensitive juncture, it seems that the countries in the [Middle East] region had better utilise all their tools and national as well as popular resources to counter the Israeli regime's expansionist and anti-human policies instead of turning to domestic conflicts and arming themselves to pose a threat to other regional countries," he said, according to Iran Front Page website.
"Without a doubt, the leaders of a limited number of infamous countries in the region are covertly seeking to establish relations with the Zionist regime [of Israel] in order to please the US," he added, possibly referring to a move by Riyadh to allow the first commercial Israel-bound flights to cross its airspace in the form of Air India service between New Delhi and Tel Aviv. Saudi Arabia has made no public comment on the incident.
Friday was reportedly the bloodiest single day in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since the 2014 war in Gaza, according to Channel News Asia. UN chief Antonio Guterres called for an "independent and transparent investigation, the website reported.
