Tehran, May 11 (AP) The foreign minister of Iran has denounced what he calls the aggression of Israeli security forces in the holy city of Jerusalem and expressed Iran's solidarity with the Palestinians amid escalating violence.

Mohammad Javad Zarif says in a video message released on Tuesday in Arabic that the “attacks” on the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, one of the holiest sites in Islam, are “the greatest evidence there is of the discriminatory and criminal nature” of Israel.

Zarif blamed Israel for fueling “insecurity and instability in the region” and also proposed a “popular referendum” in the Palestinian territories as “the only just solution to the Palestinian issue" so that Palestinians may decide “their own fate.”

Zarif affirmed that Iran “is always on the side of the Palestinians and supportive of their cause” and called the Palestinian conflict “the pivotal issue of the Islamic world and people.”

Iran is considered Israel's archenemy and backs anti-Israel militant groups across the region, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)