News - Middle East: Iran has reaffirmed its solidarity with the oppressed people of Palestine, saying the Israeli perpetrators of the recent crimes in the besieged Gaza Strip must be punished.

Iran's Foreign Ministry on Sunday issued a statement to mark the 75th anniversary of the illegal creation of the Israeli regime, known among Palestinians as the Day of Nakba, or the Day of Catastrophe, which is commemorated every year on May 15.

More than 750,000 Palestinians were forcibly removed from their ancestral homes in Palestine and 500 villages and towns were destroyed by Zionist militias before the Israeli regime declared its illegal existence. Palestinians are still enduring the repercussions of this catastrophe to this day.

In its statement, the Iranian Foreign Ministry stressed the importance of supporting the Palestinian people's resistance against the Israeli regime and their legitimate cause to liberate the occupied territories and establish an independent and integrated state with al-Quds as its capital.

It said all political plans presented over the past three decades have failed to produce any tangible outcome as they did not address the root causes of the crisis.

It once again reiterated that the resolution of the conflict lies with the return of all Palestinian refugees to their homeland, and a referendum with the participation of all the original inhabitants of Palestine, including Muslims, Christians and Jews, with the purpose of determining their own fate and the type of the political system.

The ministry condemned the crimes committed by the child-killing Zionist regime in recent days against the residents of Gaza, who have been under siege for more than 18 years in the largest natural prison, emphasizing that the criminal acts were a clear violation of international principles and laws as well as a gross violation of human rights.