Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei.
Image: ATTA KENARE / AFP
Iran's foreign ministry rejected Thursday what it called a "shocking" plan laid out by US President Donald Trump to take over Gaza and "forcibly displace" Palestinians from the coastal territory.
"The plan to clear Gaza and forcibly displace the Palestinian people to neighbouring countries is considered a continuation of the Zionist regime's (Israel) targeted plan to completely annihilate the Palestinian nation, and is categorically rejected and condemned," said foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei.
Trump on Tuesday declared "the US will take over the Gaza Strip and we will do a job with it, too. We'll own it".
Speaking alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump talked about "permanently" moving Palestinians out of Gaza.
The plan sparked uproar from Arab governments and world leaders, with the United Nations warning against "ethnic cleansing" in the Palestinian territory.
The Trump administration appeared to backtrack Wednesday on the president's comments, with Washington's top diplomat saying any transfer of Gazans would be temporary.
Baqaei described Trump's plan as "an unprecedented attack on the fundamental principles and foundations of international law and the United Nations Charter".
He further called on the international community to recognise "the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and liberate them from ... occupation and apartheid".
AFP