Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) have spoken on the phone about the war between Israel and Hamas, in their first call since Tehran and Riyadh restored ties.
The two leaders discussed on Wednesday “the need to end war crimes against Palestine”, Iranian presidential political affairs aide Mohammad Jamshidi said on X.
“Islamic unity was stressed and both believed the regime’s crimes and the US green light will cause destructive insecurity for the regime and backers.”
Saudi state news agency SPA said that MBS stressed the “necessity of adhering to the principles of international humanitarian law and expressed deep concern for the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza and its impact on civilians.”
The Saudi crown prince also said the kingdom was exerting “maximum effort to engage with all international and regional parties to halt the ongoing escalation,” SPA said.
The two leaders’ talks came as Israel carried out air raids on Gaza for a fourth consecutive day following Hamas’s multipronged attack inside Israel over the weekend.
More than 1,200 Palestinians in Gaza and 1,300 people in Israel have been killed in the violence so far, according to Palestinian and Israeli officials.
Saudi Arabia and Iran resumed relations in March under a China-brokered deal that drew a line under seven years of hostility between the sides.
Riyadh severed ties with Tehran in 2016 after protesters invaded Saudi diplomatic posts in Iran, following Saudi Arabia’s execution of a prominent Shia scholar.
