Iran calls for Islamic countries to sanction Israel

Iranian foreign minister also called for the formation of a team of Islamic lawyers to document potential war crimes committed by Israel in Gaza

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian speaks at a news conference, during his visit to Maroun Al-Ras village near the border between Lebanon and Israel, Lebanon Apr 28, 2023. REUT

Members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) should impose an oil embargo and other sanctions on Israel and expel all Israeli ambassadors, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said on Wednesday.

An urgent meeting of the OIC is taking place in the Saudi city of Jeddah to discuss the escalating Israeli-Palestinian conflict, after a blast at a Gaza hospital late on Tuesday killed large numbers of Palestinians.

"The foreign minister calls for an immediate and complete embargo on Israel by Islamic countries, including oil sanctions, in addition to expelling Israeli ambassadors if relations with the Zionist regime have been established," the Iranian foreign ministry said in a statement.

Amirabdollahian also called for the formation of a team of Islamic lawyers to document potential war crimes committed by Israel in Gaza.

Iran has no diplomatic relations with Israel.

Prior to the blast at the Gaza hospital on Tuesday, health authorities in Gaza said at least 3,000 people had died during Israel's 11-day bombardment that began after a Hamas Oct. 7 rampage on southern Israeli communities in which 1,300 people were killed and around 200 were taken into Gaza as hostages.