Iran condems Israeli action in Gaza

TEHRAN, March 3 (UPI) -- The highest ranking political and religious leader in Iran has condemned Israeli military operations in Gaza.

Following a series of rocket attacks by Palestinian militants on towns in Israel the Israeli military launched retaliatory attacks on Gaza that left over 100 Palestinians dead and at least three Israeli soldiers killed since Wednesday.

"The magnitude of the tragedy is too heavy to express in writing or discourse," Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei said.

Khamenei also pointed his finger at the United Nations for failing to use its influence to stop the Israeli military action, the Islamic Republic News Agency said Monday.

He also criticized the United States and Europe for siding with Israel in what IRNA labeled "systematic genocide."