Muscat –  H E Sayyid Badr al Busaidi, Foreign Minister, has called on Western powers to take a firm stand on Israel’s actions in the Middle East, arguing that they have a “moral obligation” to stop its ongoing offensives.

In an interview with the Financial Times, H E Sayyid Badr highlighted the escalating humanitarian crisis and regional instability caused by wars. “It’s a moral obligation on these countries to do much more than just their policy of persuasion,” he stated, urging Western nations to impose constraints on Israel.

The foreign minister acknowledged efforts by the US and other Western nations to encourage a ceasefire and renew political dialogue but expressed frustration at their limited impact. “Unfortunately, we have not seen any effect of that,” he said.

H E Sayyid Badr criticised Western countries’ long-standing support for Israel, describing it as an “outdated, cold war habit”. He suggested that France and the UK’s decisions to limit weapons sales to Israel could be examples of “peaceful means of leverage”.

When asked about Iran’s influence in the region and its support for groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas, H E Sayyid Badr said these groups were not the root cause of regional tensions.

“We would not have had Hamas in the first place had we addressed the root cause of the crisis –  the occupation (by) Israel of Palestinian land.

“The only country I see now that wants to continue the war is Israel,” he said, adding that the international community has so far failed to halt what he called “this madness”.