Iran condemns U.S. senator's remarks of letting Israel "nuke" Gaza

TEHRAN, May 14 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani on Tuesday condemned the recent remarks by a U.S. senator who said Israel should be allowed to "use nuclear bombs" to end the conflict in Gaza.

He made the remarks in a post on social media platform X, after U.S. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, during an interview on NBC News' "Meet the Press" on Sunday, argued that "Israel should be given the bombs it needed to end the conflict in Gaza."

Kanaani said the American senator's "horrifying" remarks in justifying and encouraging the use of nuclear bombs were proof of the extent of "this warmongering spectrum's brutality, complete disregard for humans' right to life and disrespect for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights."

He added the remarks were made by a U.S. senator whose country had always claimed to be the "flagbearer" of human rights and considered itself eligible to value and judge other countries' extent of observing human rights.

Kanaani called on the international community to condemn the U.S. support for Israel and stand against such "devilish" statements to prevent as soon as possible the scope of the "human catastrophe" in the Gaza Strip from expanding on a daily basis.

During the interview, Graham criticized a decision by U.S. President Joe Biden to stop the delivery of 3,000 heavy bombs to Israel, calling on the Biden administration to give Israel the bombs it needed to end the Gaza conflict.

Israel has been launching a large-scale offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, 2023, after the group carried out a surprise attack on southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people. Israel has so far killed 35,091 Palestinians and injured 78,827 others, according to the figures released by the Gaza-based Health Ministry on Monday.