Iran confirmed this Sunday that it had rejected the invitation to attend the Sharm el-Sheikh Peace Summit, which will be held on Monday in Egypt with the participation of some twenty world leaders, and will be aimed at ending the war in the Gaza Strip.

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Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi reported at the cabinet meeting that he had rejected the invitation extended by Egypt to the country’s president, Masud Pezeshkian, according to the IRNA agency.

Araqchi noted that, subsequently, the Egyptian authorities offered him to participate in the meeting; however, he did not give details about his response.

Hours earlier, the Tasnim agency had reported that Iran had ruled out its participation in the international summit, citing an anonymous source close to the Iranian government, a day after the US media Axios reported that the US State Department invited the Iranian president to the meeting.

Iran stated this Thursday that it supports any initiative that ends the genocide in Gaza and involves the total withdrawal of Israeli forces and the entry of humanitarian aid into the Strip after the peace agreement between Israel and Hamas.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran has always supported any action and initiative that guarantees the cessation of the genocidal war, the withdrawal of the occupying forces, the entry of humanitarian aid, the release of Palestinian prisoners, and the protection of the fundamental rights of the Palestinians,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Iranian diplomacy called on the international community to prevent Israel from “breaking its promises.”

It also stressed the responsibility of governments and competent international organizations “to judge those who ordered and carried out war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity in Gaza.”

The Sharm el-Sheikh Peace Summit, which will be held tomorrow in this Egyptian resort city, will be chaired by the heads of state of the US and Egypt, Donald Trump and Abdelfatah al Sisi, and will be attended by leaders from more than 20 countries.

“The summit aims to end the war in the Gaza Strip, strengthen efforts to achieve peace and stability in the Middle East, and open a new chapter in regional security and stability,” the Egyptian Presidency said.

The meeting was announced after Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas reached a ceasefire agreement in Gaza on Wednesday, which constitutes the first phase of Trump’s peace plan for the Palestinian coastal enclave.

The plan includes a truce, which came into effect on Friday, as well as the release of all Israeli hostages held by Hamas in exchange for the release, by Israel, of hundreds of Palestinians and the entry of more humanitarian aid into Gaza.

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