From the Liveblog of
Thursday, March 13, 2025
Sa’ar slams UN report on Gaza war, warns against Iran nuclear program in Athens visit
On a visit to Athens, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar condemns a United Nations report accusing Israel of “genocidal acts” in Gaza and warns against Tehran’s plans to obtain nuclear weapons, according to Sa’ar’s office.
“Today, we witnessed an unbelievable blood libel,” Sa’ar says of the UN report during a trilateral summit with his Greek and Cypriot counterparts.
The report, which alleges that Israel systematically destroyed Gazan healthcare facilities and used sexual violence as a war strategy, was also rejected by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, women’s groups, and Israel’s mission to the UN, who said that the document attempted to equate the IDF’s conduct in Gaza with the horrific acts of sexual violence committed by Palestinian terrorists during the Hamas-led atrocities on October 7, 2023.
In further remarks, Sa’ar emphasizes that Tehran is “more desperate than ever” to develop nuclear weapons, “especially following the severe blows inflicted by Israel on Iranian proxies across the Middle East.”
The comments come as US President Donald Trump pushes for nuclear talks with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The foreign minister also updates his Greek and Cypriot counterparts, Giorgos Gerapetritis and Kostantinos Kombos, on an Israeli Air Force strike in Damascus today targeting a terrorist command center of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
The three foreign ministers agree to hold a monthly consultation, establish a joint committee of foreign ministry directors-general to enhance economic relations, and to coordinate an upcoming summit between the leaders of the three nations, adds Sa’ar’s office.
