Iranian FM writes to intl. officials over attacks on Gaza

TEHRAN,Nov.17(MNA)--Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi sent separate letters to a number of international officials on Thursday calling on them to take the measures necessary to stop Israeli attacks against the Gaza Strip. Salehi sent the letters to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Organization of Islamic Cooperation Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem (Navi) Pillay, and Catherine Ashton, the high representative of the European Union for foreign affairs and security policy. In his letters, the Iranian foreign minister also called for international efforts to lift the blockade on Gaza to prevent a humanitarian crisis. He stated that the rights of the Palestinian people will be restored when the Israeli occupation of Palestine ends. In addition, Iranian Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani on Friday held telephone conversations with a number of his counterparts in Muslim countries about the Israeli attacks against the Palestinian people. He told his counterparts that Muslim countries should adopt a stance against such attacks and make efforts to help prevent them. Larijani also held telephone conversations with Anders B. Johnsson, the secretary general of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, and Erol Kilic, the secretary general of the Islamic Inter-Parliamentary Union, over the issue on the same day.