Iranian president calls for Palestinian state from the 'river to the sea': report

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA - NOVEMBER 11: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi arrives at King Khalid International Airport in the Saudi capital Riyadh for an extraordinary joint Arab-Islamic summit to discuss the situation in the Gaza Strip on November 11, 2023. Raisi is welcomed by Saudi officials at the airport, marking the first presidential visit from Iran to Saudi Arabia in 11 years. (Photo by Iranian Presidency/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi, speaking at an Islamic-Arab summit in Saudi Arabia, said the only solution to the Israel-Hamas war is a Palestinian state from the "river to the sea." 

"The only solution for this conflict is the resistance continuing against the Israeli oppression until the establishment of the Palestinian state from the river to the sea," Raisi said, according to the Times of Israel. 

The phrase, "from the river, to the sea," is widely viewed by counterterrorism experts as a call for the extermination of Israel, the lone Jewish state.

Raisi reportedly called on the dozens of Arab and Muslim leaders present in Riyadh to choose sides in the Israel-Palestinian conflict. 

“We want to take a historic and decisive decision regarding what is happening in the Palestinian territories. Killing civilians and bombing hospitals are manifestations of Israeli crimes in Gaza. Today, everyone must decide which side they stand on,” he said.

Raisi also called for sanctions and an energy boycott against Israel, for war crimes charges to be brought against Israel and the U.S. at the Hague and for international inspectors at Israel's nuclear facilities, the Times of Israel reported.