News - Middle East: Iranian Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref says the emergency meeting of the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Saudi Arabia comes at Iran’s suggestion and is meant to discuss an end to the unrelenting Israeli atrocities against the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.

Aref made the remarks at Tehran’s Mehrabad Airport on Monday before leaving the Iranian capital for Riyadh to take part in the event.

The extraordinary session is being held at the suggestion of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and following diplomatic efforts and multiple contacts by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, he said.

Attendees will “primarily exchange viewpoints on an end to the ongoing war and bloodshed in Lebanon and Palestine,” the senior Iranian official explained.

Aref also expressed hope that continuing consultations would yield positive results and bring about a cessation of Israeli brutalities.

“We hope to obtain valuable achievements in the field of providing aid to the displaced and victims of the Zionist regime’s attacks and crimes. Accordingly, we will enter the third stage of the measures. Iran as well as all Muslim and Arab states aim to secure a durable ceasefire in the region,” he underscored.

At the summit, Iranian delegates will present their viewpoints on the core issues affecting Palestine and Lebanon and emphasize the urgent need to end the war in West Asia, Aref stated.

Israel has launched relentless air and ground attacks on Gaza, including hospitals, residences, and houses of worship, since Palestinian resistance movements launched their surprise attack, dubbed Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, against the regime on October 7.

At least 43,603 Palestinians, most of them women and children, have been killed while another 102,929 individuals have sustained injuries. 

Since September 23, the Israeli army has been launching an intensive air campaign on Lebanon in a dangerous escalation with the Hezbollah resistance movement.

In early October, Israel initiated a ground offensive against Hezbollah forces across the border between occupied territories and Lebanon. 

According to the Lebanese Health Ministry, the death toll in the country from Israeli airstrikes since the onset of the Israel-Hezbollah conflict in October 2023 has reached 3,189, with injuries rising to 14,078.

At least 24 people were killed and several others injured on Sunday afternoon in Israeli airstrikes on southern and eastern Lebanon, Lebanon's official National News Agency (NNA) reported.

Source: Press TV