Tehran: Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei has condemned an Israeli attack on an unarmed civilian vessel carrying humanitarian aid and activists to the war-torn Gaza Strip.

According to Islamic Republic News Agency, Baqaei stated that "the attack on 'the Conscience' ship was carried out in line with the colonial project of genocide and extermination of the Palestinian people." He emphasized that the Israeli regime targeted the aid ship to maintain its blockade of food and medicine to Gaza. Baqaei described this as a terrorist act against the security and safety of navigation and an attack on the foundations of international humanitarian law.

Baqaei further expressed that depriving the wounded, sick, and grieving children and women in Gaza of food, water, and medicine constitutes a war crime and a crime against humanity. He reiterated Iran's solidarity with the oppressed Palestinian people and urged the international community and Islamic countries to firmly condemn Israel and hold the regime's officials accountable for their actions.

The aid ship was bombed by drones and disabled off Malta as it was headed towards the Palestinian territory early on Friday. Images posted on social media displayed a blaze and two explosions on the Conscience, a Freedom Flotilla Coalition ship, which its organizers claim came under direct attack in international waters.