Iran to hold naval parade 'in a show of support’ to Palestinians

TEHRAN, Iran

Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) plan to hold large-scale maneuvers this week in the country's northern and southern waters in a show of support to the Palestinians.

The maritime parade will be held on Thursday in collaboration with several ports around the world, IRGC Navy commander Brig. Gen. Alireza Tangsiri said on Sunday.

He said the aim is to "defend the oppressed people of Palestine, support their Intifada and condemn the heinous crimes of the Zionist regime", referring to Israel.

The parade will be held on the shores of the Caspian Sea in northern Iran and the Persian Gulf in southern Iran with the participation of more than 2,500 vessels, Tangsiri stated.

It comes amid heightened tensions in occupied East Jerusalem following a series of raids by Israeli forces on the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

Many Muslim countries around the world have strongly condemned the Israeli raids and urged Tel Aviv to exercise restraint.

On Friday, in a phone conversation with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi stressed that the "convergence" of Muslim countries is key to "counter the aggression" of Israel, his office said in a statement.

President Erdogan, for his part, said it is important to demonstrate unity while calling for joint efforts in international platforms to preserve the status of holy sites such as the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

On Thursday, Raisi called for an emergency session of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on the situation in Palestine in a phone call with his Indonesian counterpart Joko Widodo.

After Raisi's call, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian had a phone conversation with OIC Secretary-General Hissein Brahim Taha on Thursday, proposing a meeting at the level of foreign ministers.

Tensions between Iran and Israel have also aggravated in recent weeks after Israeli airstrikes in northern Syria in late March killed two IRGC military advisers.

Iranian officials have vowed a "firm and decisive" response to their killings.