Iran has been funding the Hamas group's operations, Israel's envoy to the UN said today amid the war with Palestine that started after Hamas launched its biggest attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip.
Israel's representative to the UN Gilad Erdan said they are quite sure that Iran has been backing Hamas' operations and by extension the terrorist attack on Saturday morning that left over 600 Israelis dead and thousands injured.
Mr Erdan's comment comes hours after Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi said Iran supports the Palestinians' right to self-defence and warned Israel must be held accountable for endangering the region.
"Iran supports the legitimate defence of the Palestinian nation," Mr Raisi said, quoted by state television. "The Zionist regime (Israel) and its supporters are responsible for endangering the security of nations in the region, and they must be held accountable in this matter."
He urged Muslim governments to "support the Palestinian nation" while praising "resistance" efforts by Hamas and other groups in countries including Syria, Lebanon and Iraq.
Iran had talks with leaders of Hamas and Islamic Jihad in June.
At the time, Mr Raisi said Israel was seeking to normalise ties with more Arab and Muslim countries "to discourage young Palestinians from (seeking to) liberate the occupied territories", according to the presidency.
180,000 Gazans Displaced In 4 Days As Israeli Aggression Continues "Where Should We Go": Gazans Forced To Shelter In Former Prison Amid War Israel Slams UN Expert For "Anti-Semitism" Over Hitler-Netanyahu Comparison At Olympics Opening Ceremony, Drag Parody Of 'The Last Supper' Draws Flak Centre Fact-Checks Mamata Banerjee's Mic-Off Claim, She Hits Back Why Was Woman In Bengaluru Hostel Murdered? What Initial Probe Reveals "Goa Would Have Collapsed Had The Congress Rule Continued": Kiren Rijiju Trump Vows To Hold Rallies With More Security Despite Assassination Attempt Fake Billing Scam Worth Thousands Of Crores Unearthed: Punjab Minister Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.