Earlier this week, Amirabdollahian paid official visits to the countries of the Middle East - Iraq, Lebanon and Syria. On Friday, the Iranian minister met in Beirut with Hassan Nasrallah, chief of Lebanon's Shia Islamist movement Hezbollah.
On October 7, Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise large-scale rocket attack against Israel from the Gaza Strip, prompting Israel to declare a state of war the following day and launch retaliatory strikes. On Monday, Israel ordered a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to more than 2 million people, cutting off supplies of water, food and fuel. Both Israel and Palestine have reported over 1,000 deaths and thousands of injured as a result of the escalation.