DUBAI, February 13. /TASS/. The United States, despite its assurances to prevent further escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, has in no way reduced arms supplies to Israel, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said.

Commenting on a potential ground operation of the Israeli Defense Forces in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, he said: "The American administration talks about preventing the spread of war in the region, but at the same time it has not at all reduced the supply of weapons and military equipment to the Israeli regime to kill Palestinians." He added that reaching a ceasefire would only be possible if the US demonstrated its desire for a ceasefire "in deeds, not in words."

On Monday, the Iranian foreign minister arrived in Qatar. There he held talks with his Qatari counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani.

On February 7, Jewish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the military had received orders to prepare for the start of fighting at Rafah on the Gaza border with Egypt. Two days later, he ordered the army to prepare a plan to evacuate civilians and eliminate the four remaining Hamas battalions in the town. On the night of February 12, Arab media reported massive Israeli military attacks on Rafah. According to the Al Mayadeen TV channel, 100 people were killed and more than 230 wounded in the shelling.