Iran points at Israel 'threat' to Europe, US

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki has warned the US and Europe of what he calls Israel's 'danger' over their continuous support for Tel Aviv.

"The US is facing a big test, because Israel is a threat to the region and even to Europe and the USA, and citizens of the West are no longer willing to put up with any more humiliation for supporting racists," Mottaki said during a meeting with Hamas official Musa Muhammad Abu Marzuq in Tehran on Sunday.

He also condemned latest Israeli provocation after Israeli forces shut access to Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem (Al-Quds).

"The recent acts of the Zionists in the Al-Aqsa Mosque reveal Israel's racist nature and should be a warning to the Muslim and Arab countries," said Mottaki, according to a press release from Iran's Foreign Ministry.

Calling the ratcheting up the pressure against the Palestinians "a violation of human rights", Iran's chief diplomat said the Israeli policies stiffens the resolve of Palestinian residents, "and makes them more resolute on the path of resistance."

Mottaki supported the notion of reconciliation between different Palestinian groups and expressed the hope for the day when the world witnesses "a democratic and popular state with the participation of all Palestinians."

The deputy chief of the Hamas political bureau, for his part, expressed appreciation for the moral support of Iran for the resistance movement.

The Al-Aqsa Mosque is Islam's third holiest place, and has been under illegal Israeli occupation since 1967. Israeli authorities have recently shut off the mosque to Muslims and have instead allowed large number of Jewish worshipers into the area of the Dome of the Rock to coincide with the Jewish Festival of Sukkot.

The recent measures have resulted in disturbances in the area and Palestinian casualties.

The Palestinian resistance is fully prepared to counter Israel's warmongering policies, Abu Marzuq said.