Iranian President Ebrahim Raishi today accused the US of “encouraging” Israel to “kill and commit inhuman acts” against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

During his meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani in Tehran, Raishi again called for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza.

He also added that both he and Sudani “believe that the shelling must stop as soon as possible, that an immediate ceasefire must be declared and that aid must be given to the oppressed and proud people of Gaza.”

“These horrible and crimes against humanity are genocide, carried out by the Zionist regime with the support of the US and some European countries,” the Iranian president denounced.

The meeting between Raishi and Sudani, which had not been announced, pIt came a day after US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s surprise visit to Baghdad.

Blinken assessed that “threats and attacks coming from militias close to Iran” against US forces stationed in Iraq and Syria “are completely unacceptable”.

Since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas on October 7, several drone and rocket attacks have been launched against US forces and forces of the international coalition against the jihadists. Washington accuses Iran of being involved through militias close to it in these attacks.

Iran and Iraq do not recognize the state of Israel and the Iraqi government is close to Tehran, which supports the Palestinian Hamas.

On October 25th Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused the US of being “unquestionable accomplices in the crimes” being committed in the Gaza Strip.