Tehran, December 6 (RHC)-- The chief commander of the Iranian Army has lauded the Palestinian resistance against Israel’s brutal aggression on the besieged Gaza Strip, saying the prosecution of those responsible for crimes against Palestinians is the minimum price the Israelis and Americans must pay.

Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi made the remarks at a ceremony in the Iranian capital of Tehran on Monday as he praised Operation al-Aqsa Storm, the largest military operation by the Palestinian resistance groups against the occupied territories in decades.  “Operation al-Aqsa Storm and the resistance of the people of Gaza against the unheard-of oppression and crimes of the illegitimate and usurping Zionist regime as well as their disgraceful and dishonorable master unmasked the so-called human rights advocates,” Mousavi said.

“Gaza is a city of resistance and a symbol of steadfastness,” he added.  “Operation al-Aqsa Storm, as Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said, is an 'irreparable defeat' since the heroic Palestinian fighters carried out an offensive [against Israel] after nearly 75 years.”

Stressing that more than 700 innocent Palestinian women and children have been killed by the Israeli regime in Gaza over the past 24 hours, the chief commander of the Iranian Army said the Americans have also maintained an “active presence” there and been responsible for “directing and managing” the Israeli genocide in the besieged territory.

Mousavi said the U.S. and Israel, in defiance of global condemnations, continue to commit crimes and add to their “black record,” but the final victory is for Palestinians no matter how the ongoing war ends.

Underlining that the Israeli regime is on the decline and on the path to destruction, the commander said, “The supporters of Zionists must … return the occupied territories to their main owners; Of course, in doing so, putting criminals on trial is the minimum price that the criminal Americans and Zionists have to pay.”

Since the beginning of the barbaric war of aggression on Gaza, the U.S. has been Israel's biggest ally, providing it with thousands of arms consignments. Washington, which has backed Tel Aviv's ferocious attacks as a means of "self-defense," has also been casting its veto against the UN Security Council resolutions that called on the occupying regime to cease its aggression.