A senior Iranian diplomat has denounced Israel’s ongoing atrocities in the besieged Gaza Strip, the occupied West Bank, Lebanon and Syria, warning against the expansionist objectives of the occupying regime in the region.

According to The Iran Project, Ali Asghar Khaji, a senior aide on politial affairs to Iran’s foreign minister, made the remarks on Monday as he met with Mustafa Yurdakul, the Director General of the Syria Department at the Turkish Foreign Ministry, at the 22nd international Astana meeting on Syria held in the Kazakh capital city of Astana.

Khaji also condemned the Israeli regime’s mass genocide of Palestinians in view of Washington’s support, cautioning against Israel’s expansionist objectives in West Asia, particularly in Syria.

The senior Iranian diplomat also underlined the need for an effective strategy to counter Israel’s expansionist goals which are aimed at changing the reality on the ground in the region.

He voiced support for possible rapprochement and restoration of Ankara-Damascus diplomatic ties, stressing that normalization of mutual relations between the two neighboring countries would be an important development given the current state of affairs in West Asia.

Yurdakul, for his part, expressed concerns over the repercussions of ongoing Israeli attacks across the region, demanding an immediate end to the atrocities.

The two sides also exchanged viewpoints on the latest situation in the region, as well as unfolding political developments in Syria, especially in shadow of the crimes and aggressive attacks of the Zionist regime.

Iran and Russia, as the allies of the Syrian government, as well as Turkey, which sides with the opposition, set up the Astana peace process in January 2017 intending to put an end to the Syrian conflict through the involvement of the Syrian government and the opposition.