Iran says world waiting for Trump government to stop wars in Gaza and Lebanon

While Trump has promised peace in the Middle East, he has said Biden should let Israel ‘finish the job’ against Hamas in Gaza

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A mural depicting the Statue of Liberty with the torch-bearing arm broken, in Tehran. Photo: AFP

Published: 1:59am, 12 Nov 2024Updated: 12:49pm, 12 Nov 2024

Iran on Monday said the “world is waiting” for Donald Trump’s incoming US government to stop Israel’s wars with Hamas and Hezbollah, as it condemned a wave of Israeli assassinations as “organised terrorism”.

“The American government is the main supporter of the actions of the Zionist regime [Israel],” First Vice-President Mohammad Reza Aref told a joint Arab League and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation summit in Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh.

“The world is waiting for the promise of the new government of this country to immediately stop the war against the innocent people of Gaza and Lebanon.”

Since Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attacks triggered the war, Israel has killed a number of senior opponents including Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar and Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s long-time leader.

Israel is also widely believed to have carried out the killing of former Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in the Iranian capital Tehran.

“The ‘targeted killing’ [operation] … are nothing but lawlessness and organised terrorism and turn the security apparatus into a tool to kill leaders and citizens of the countries,” Aref said.