Iran Moves To Counter Israel In Jerusalem With Virtual Embassy

Iran has made a bold move to counter Israel domestic influence by creating a virtual embassy in Jerusalem, agency reports have said today.

It has got its parliament to approve a law that would permit the creation of the virtual embassy.

The state-run Mehr news agency, said the parliament approved the motions, which are aimed at countering Israeli aggression against Palestine, which were put forward by the parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee.

Among the proposals, parliament signed off on the creation of a virtual embassy to Palestine, which will be based in the city of Jerusalem, the agency reported.

Iran will also provide greater support to the Palestinian people, forbid those associated with Israeli companies, groups, and non-governmental organisations from participating at domestic and international expos, and prohibit the use of Israeli software in Iran, the agency reported.

All Iranian nationals will also be banned from traveling to the “occupied lands of Palestine,” as quoted by the agency.

 The motions follow in the wake of U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s visit to Israel this past week. Pompeo met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Vice Prime Minister Benny Gantz to discuss Iran’s “destabilising behaviour” in the Middle East.

A major aftermath of the 1979 Iranian revolution, was severance of all diplomatic and commercial ties with Israel, and its Islamic government does not recognise the legitimacy of Israel as a state.

The turn from cold peace to hostility started in the early 1990s, shortly after the collapse of the Soviet Union and defeat of the Iraqi Army during Desert Storm, after which relative power in the Middle East shifted towards Iran and Israel.

READ ALSO: Six Year Old Girl Narrates How Police Rescued Her From KidnappersThe conflict escalated in the early 1990s, as Yitzhak Rabin’s government adopted a more aggressive posture on Iran

Israel and Iran have had no love lost between them, but things got to a head after the US invaded Iraq in 2003.

This was followed by withdrawal of American troops in 2011.

The removal of Saddam Hussein from the scene altered the regional balance of power in the Middle East.