Iran’s Rouhani calls for uprising on US Jerusalem move

By Rasha Khalaf

ISTANBUL

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday called on Palestinians and Muslims to "rise up" against what he described as a U.S. "conspiracy" against the Islamic world.

"We call on Muslim peoples to enter into a big uprising against the plot of transferring the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem," Rouhani said in a press statement during an event in capital Tehran.

"The declaration of Jerusalem as the capital of the Zionist entity [Israel] is a new conspiracy facing the Islamic world these days," the official IRNA quoted him as saying.

The Iranian president went on to say: "We have to be aware and ready in the face of the U.S., the Zionist entity and their tails."

"There is a heavy responsibility -- in this regard -- lying on the Islamic countries and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation," he said.

U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to formally recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital on Wednesday and begin preparations to move the U.S. Embassy to the city, three senior administration officials confirmed to Anadolu Agency late Tuesday.

Palestinians, Arab and Muslim countries warn that a unilateral recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital would "unleash widespread public anger" and deal a death knell to the peace process.

During his election campaign last year, Trump repeatedly promised to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Jerusalem remains at the core of the Israel-Palestine conflict, with Palestinians hoping that East Jerusalem -- currently occupied by Israel -- might eventually serve as the capital of a future Palestinian state.