Amid Israel’s war with Hamas, the Iranian regime’s Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance praised what he called the “youth of the resistance front in Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen”.

"After six months of resistance, the youth of Gaza have shown to the Islamic world that the attachment of the people of Gaza to the Quran is steadfast. The Muslim people of Gaza have demonstrated to the world that adherence to the Quran is a fundamental and vital condition for the advancement of the Islamic society," Mohammad Mehdi Esmaili said at a Quranic session in Tehran on Friday.

The Minister’s praise of the “resistance front” is understood to be in support of militant terrorist Palestinian groups, such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad – and other Iran-backed proxies operating along Israel's borders.

His comments come amid escalating tensions in the Middle East – after Hamas and Palestinian armed groups attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.

The attack, described as the deadliest for Jews since the Holocaust, resulted in the deaths of 1,200 individuals and left many others wounded. Additionally, 240 individuals were taken hostage during the incident.

While the US has not corroborated the claim, the Wall Street Journal reported that Iran was involved in aiding Hamas to orchestrate the attack, with Hamas operatives reportedly receiving training in Iran beforehand.

In line with the clerical regime in Tehran, the Minister echoed an anti-Semitic trope by labeling Israel as "the Zionist regime."

“The heroic resistance of the Palestinians thwarted all the equations sought by the occupying Zionist regime and the United States to normalize the presence of this cancerous gland in the heart of the Islamic world," he said.