‘Another sign of Israel’s moral decline’: Iran denounces mistreatment of Sumud Flotilla’s activists
The Foreign Ministry has strongly condemned the Israeli regime’s sheer mistreatment of hundreds of international activists from the Global Sumud Flotilla, which had sought to break Tel Aviv’s draconian siege of the Gaza Strip.
Spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei made the remarks in a statement on Saturday after Israeli forces violently detained the activists and transferred them to the regime’s notorious Ktzi’ot Prison that he called a “symbol” of torture and inhumane treatment of Palestinian prisoners.
The official also cited repeated instances of insult against the detainees by far-right Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who had called the participants “terrorists,” saying the overall aggression “represents yet another sign of the regime’s moral decline.”
According to Baghaei, it was rather the regime’s ill-treatment of the participants that amounted to a “terrorist act.”
On Friday, the Israeli navy intercepted the last vessel that had joined the flotilla, which had set sail from Barcelona late last month on a mission to challenge what human rights groups have condemned as one of the harshest and most inhumane blockades in the world.
Described as the largest maritime effort of its kind in decades, the flotilla had brought together delegations representing at least 44 different countries.
The interception spree was met with far-and-wide global condemnation.
Hamas calls Israeli attacks on Global Sumud Flotilla ‘maritime terrorism’ as intl. condemnation pours in https://t.co/E2keLCoMgG
— Press TV 🔻 (@PressTV) October 1, 2025
Numerous participants reported threats and harassment by the regime, including climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, who was reportedly physically abused and forced to kiss an Israeli flag after regime forces raided the fleet.
Israeli forces abused Greta Thunberg after intercepting Global Sumud Flotilla: Turkish activist https://t.co/EGcLob6v3Z
— Press TV 🔻 (@PressTV) October 4, 2025
Bagahei referred to participation of citizens from scores of countries in the flotilla, urging all governments and the United Nations to support the campaign, hold the Zionist regime accountable, and secure immediate release of the detainees.
Tel Aviv’s confrontation against the flotilla, the official added, is aimed at prolonging the famine that it has imposed on Gaza through the siege.
He reiterated the Islamic Republic’s condemnation of the United States and some other Western states’ continued support for the regime amid its October 2023-present war of genocide on Gaza.
The official stressed that all governments bore a legal and moral responsibility to halt the genocide and bring the perpetrators to justice.
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