Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian sharply criticized Western governments on Saturday for their failure to halt the ongoing genocide committed by the Israeli regime in the Gaza Strip, saying their gestures of sympathy toward Palestinians amount to nothing more than empty rhetoric.

Speaking to reporters upon his return to Tehran after attending the 80th annual session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), President Pezeshkian highlighted the hypocrisy of European leaders who claim to oppose Israel but continue to enable its crimes.

“They said that we are opposed to the Israeli regime; but how can a group be opposed and Israel continues with its crimes?” Pezeshkian asked, referring to his meetings with leaders from France, Norway, Finland, Switzerland, and the President of the European Council during the UNGA.

The Iranian president noted that he had made clear Iran’s position on the atrocities in Gaza, stressing that Israel’s ongoing massacres are carried out with the direct support of the United States and the silent approval of European states. He said the situation has become so dire that “no Western power dares to defend the Israeli regime due to the growing outrage of their own populations.”

Pezeshkian also condemned international organizations, particularly the United Nations, for their complete inaction in the face of Israel’s war crimes. “These forums were created with different names, but they are nothing more than lies when they fail to stop a regime that has killed over 65,000 innocent people, keeps thousands more hungry, thirsty, and without medicine, and blocks all humanitarian aid,” he said.

He underscored that the Israeli regime has destabilized the entire region with its crimes, yet bodies such as the UN Security Council have not even been able to issue a single resolution against it. “The world is in the hands of powers that falsely proclaim to defend human rights, women, and children, while allowing Israel to slaughter them daily,” he declared.

Turning to the issue of the UN’s so-called snapback sanctions, Pezeshkian revealed that European counterparts continue to make excuses under US pressure, disregarding Iran’s transparency with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and its willingness to clarify issues regarding uranium enrichment.

In meetings with think tanks and strategic study centers, he recalled, one speaker openly admitted that “the US wants a humiliated and weak Iran; it does not want a strong Iran. If today it is a nuclear issue, tomorrow it will be a non-nuclear issue. It is impossible for them to accept a powerful Iran in the region.”

Despite this Western hostility, Pezeshkian expressed confidence in Iran’s domestic strength. “We will join hands with our experts and politicians and find a way to solve problems. The West cannot break us,” he vowed.

The Iranian president’s remarks underscored growing frustration across the Global South at Western duplicity, particularly their refusal to hold Israel accountable for its crimes in Gaza, where tens of thousands of Palestinians have been martyred and millions face starvation under the blockade. (ILKHA)