Iran slams Israeli UNRWA ban as 'outrageous'

Iran on Wednesday condemned what it called Israel's "outrageous and cruel" new law that could effectively cripple the work of the United Nations agency responsible for aiding Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.

The regulations approved by Israel's parliament on Monday ban UNRWA from operating in Israel and occupied east Jerusalem, and prevent it from communicating and coordinating with Israeli authorities, which could essentially end its work in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

Israel has long been at odds with UNRWA, and has alleged that some of its employees were involved in the October 7 Hamas attacks that triggered the war in the Gaza Strip.

The ban is due to start in three months.

"This is outrageous and cruel and extremely consequential as UNRWA is 'irreplaceable' and 'essential' without which the humanitarian system in Gaza will collapse," Iran foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghi said.

"The world must act decisively to stop the regime from uprooting the 75-year-old agency and to prevent deprivation of Palestinian refugees of their minimum basic rights," he posted on social media site X, formerly Twitter, which is blocked in Iran.

UNRWA was established in 1949 by the UN General Assembly after the first Arab-Israeli war, shortly after the creation of Israel in May 1948 and the mass displacement of Palestinians in its wake.

It runs health centres and schools in Gaza and the West Bank, as well as in neighbouring countries that host Palestinian refugees.

After the 1979 revolution in Iran, the Islamic republic has made support for the Palestinian cause one of the pillars of its foreign policy.

It does not recognise the state of Israel.