Iran rebuffs G7 calls to stop supporting Hamas fighters

Iran rejected a G7 statement which called on Tehran to stop supporting Hamas fighters and taking actions that "destabilise" the Middle East.

Thursday's comment by Tehran came a day after foreign ministers from the G7 group of advanced economies, meeting in Tokyo, expressed support for "humanitarian pauses and corridors" in the Israeli-Hamas war.

Israeli air strikes have pounded the Palestinian territory of Gaza since Hamas fighters stormed across the heavily militarised border on October 7.

The subsequent Israeli bombing campaign in Gaza has killed more than 10,500 people, two-thirds of them women and children, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza.

The G7 also called on Iran to "refrain from providing support for Hamas and taking further actions that destabilise the Middle East, including support for Lebanese Hezbollah and other non-state actors."

'It is duty to support Hamas'

Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanani "strongly condemned" the statement by the group which includes the United States, Britain, Germany, Canada, Italy, France, and Japan

He said Iran has engaged in "non-stop efforts to stop military attacks of the Zionist aggressor regime (Israel) on the defenceless citizens" in Gaza.

"What was expected from the meeting of the Group of 7 foreign ministers in Tokyo was to fulfill their international responsibility, including condemning the acts of the Zionist regime that violate human rights and international law in Gaza."

Iran, which supports Hamas financially and militarily, has hailed the Palestinian group Hamas' attack on Israel as a "success" but denied any involvement.

President Ebrahim Raisi has said Iran sees it as "its duty to support the resistance groups" but insisted that they act independently.

Iran does not recognise Israel and has made support for the Palestinian cause a centrepiece of its foreign policy since the 1979 Iranian Revolution.