Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi spoke with the Prime Minister of Norway Jonas Gahr Store, according to Iranian pro-regime media. The Iranian regime leader said he welcomed Norway’s position in supporting a ceasefire. Iran also “stressed the need for international efforts to lift the blockade” of Gaza.
In the wake of the October 7 attack on Israel in which Hamas massacred 1,400 people, Iran sent its foreign minister to meet Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Doha. The men held two meetings. Iran has also encouraged Hezbollah, the Houthis and Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Syria to carry out illegal attacks on Israel and on US forces. There have been thirty attacks on US forces in Iraq and Syria.
According to Iran’s Tasnim and Fars News, Raisi held his conversation with the Norwegian leader on Saturday evening.
“The [Iranian] President also welcomed the readiness of the Ministry of Justice of Norway to investigate the war crimes in Gaza and announced the readiness of our country to cooperate in this field and emphasized that the war crimes of the Zionist regime and the American support for these crimes should not go unpunished,” Iranian pro-media said.
Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store has called Israel’s response to the Hamas massacre “disproportionate.”
Days after the Hamas attack killed 1,400 people in Israel, Norway slammed Israel for its “unacceptable” siege of Gaza. “Israel is entitled to defend itself … but it cannot use all possible means,” Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt told public radio NRK. “I condemn this siege because you have to, when they ask so many people to leave, when they don’t have access to food and medicine,” she said.
Iran backs Hamas
Iran also stressed in the discussion that Hamas is the “legal, elected and legitimate government of Gaza, he pointed out that a war with Hamas is a war with democracy.”
Therefore Iran is recognizing Hamas as the governing power of Gaza. As such it would appear that Hamas must abide by the same international rules and laws that Israel is expected to abide by. Yet Iran did not reference Hamas crimes and disproportionate force. Instead Iran slammed the US and the West and claimed that the West is supplying Israel with arms and accused the West of double standards. The Iranian president also claimed that police in western countries suppress protesters.
According to the Iranian media, the Norwegian Prime Minister replied that the world is complicated and that “Norway is aware of the important and effective role of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the region and appreciates your efforts in the field of control of tensions.” Norway supports a cessation of violence.
The Iranian outreach to Norway appears to be a way to try to legitimize Hamas. It is unclear why, if Hamas is viewed as a legitimate government of Gaza, why its actions are held to the same international law that Israel is expected to abide by. If so, then it would appear that Hamas attacks on October 7 were disproportionate and that Hamas would have been called to ceasefire and Hamas would have been investigated for its actions.
