Tehran’s mayor, hardliner politician Alireza Zakani, has called on his counterparts in Muslim countries “not to allow the issue of Palestine to be forgotten.”

Zakani, who was a presidential candidate in 2021 and received the post after losing the election, wrote to mayors of cities in Islamic countries, stating that Israel’s attack on Gaza was “among the biggest crimes of the past century.”

Reiterating the Islamic Republic’s pro-Hamas rhetoric, Zakani blamed the United States and “a handful of European countries” for standing by Israel and insisted that the Palestinian cause is part of the anti-imperialist campaign. He told his counterparts that Muslim mayors have a serious duty and responsibility to defend Gaza.

The Iranian regime immediately congratulated Hamas on October 7 as the militant group launched its terror attack on Israel. The government ordered street celebrations, but the Iranian public has shunned pro-Hamas gatherings, unlike large rallies in Western capitals.

Many Iranians are opposed to the government’s policy of spending billions of dollars to create and support militant groups throughout the region. They believe that the regime’s anti-West and anti-Israel foreign policy has impoverished the country.

Zakani asked his counterparts in the Muslim world to help pressure their government to cut all ties with Israel and apply sanctions. Iran’s president Ebrahim Raisi made the same proposals in a summit of Muslim leaders in Saudi Arabia on Saturday.

He also asked them to support “popular gatherings” in support of Palestinians in their cities, a policy the Iranian regime applies regularly, by distributing free food to the crowds to encourage a larger turnout.