Venezuela Says backs Iran, Gaza, Lebanon against Israel

Gil met on Friday with the Arab community in Venezuela as well as ambassadors and diplomatic representatives from Iran, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Kuwait, Algeria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Qatar and Sudan, according to a post he shared on his Telegram page.

The top Venezuelan diplomat said he convened the meeting on President Nicolás Maduro’s instructions.

“During this meeting, we reaffirmed our brotherhood and solidarity with the Arab peoples, especially Lebanon and Palestine, who are currently facing state terrorism perpetrated by Israel, the American colony in the Middle East”, Gil said.

He added, “Venezuela will continue to support and raise its voice in defense of the Arab peoples and their struggle for self-determination.”

Venezuela had previously expressed its support for Iran’s latest retaliatory response to the Israeli aggression, saying that it was based on the Islamic Republic’s legitimate right to self-defense enshrined in Article 51 of the UN Charter.

On October 1, Iran fired some 200 Iranian ballistic missiles at Israeli military and security positions in response to Israel’s assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31, as well as the assassination of Iranian military commanders and Lebanon’s Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.