Iran Says All Mosques Are Centers Of Fight Against Israel

In a tweet on the occasion of the anniversary of the fire at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque -- known to Jews as the Temple Mount – 53 years ago, foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said “the Zionists set fire to the Aqsa Mosque... and this was not their first and last crime by occupiers of Palestine.”

"Resistance is the only way to save Palestine, and al-Aqsa Mosque and all mosques in the world will remain the center of anti-Zionist resistance until the complete liberation of Palestine,” he said. 

The arson attack on the al-Aqsa Mosque was carried out on August 21, 1969 by Australian citizen Denis Michael Rohan, who initially set fire to the pulpit. Initially, Israelis blamed the fire either on an accident related to ongoing renovations, or to a false flag attack by Palestinian group Fatah. The fire has been described as one of the most destabilizing incidents in the Middle East.

On Saturday, the commander of the Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) Hossein Salami said the war between Israel and Palestinians is not limited to Gaza and has expanded to the West Bank, claiming that many Israelis have been killed in operations by “resistance groups inside the occupied territories,” in the past several months. He added that the number of Israelis killed is significantly higher than the previous year.

The Jerusalem Post also claimed Saturday that Tehran “believes time is on its side” to “erode Israel’s power slowly” by unifying and arming Palestinian groups.