Iran’s caretaker Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani has accused the United States of being complicit in the assassination of Hamas politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh, asserting that the act was not possible without U.S. approval and intelligence support.
Speaking at an extraordinary ministerial meeting of the Executive Committee of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Bagheri Kani condemned the assassination as “only one instance of Israel’s terrorist crimes” and labeled it a “flagrant aggression against Iran’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
He urged the United Nations Security Council to hold Israel accountable for such violations and to bring those responsible to justice. “The U.S. responsibility as Israel’s main supporter should not be overlooked in this heinous crime,” Bagheri Kani stated, emphasizing that the assassination could not have occurred without U.S. involvement.
Bagheri Kani warned that in the absence of appropriate action by the UN Security Council, Iran would have no choice but to exercise its “inherent right to legitimate self-defense in the face of Israel’s aggressions.” He affirmed that such measures were necessary to prevent further “aggressions” against Iran’s sovereignty, people, and territory, and would be taken at the “required time and in a proportionate form.”
Ismail Haniyeh was killed along with his bodyguard in the early hours of July 31 when their residence in Tehran was struck. Haniyeh had been invited to attend Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s swearing-in ceremony. Iran has accused Israel of carrying out the attack and has vowed “a harsh and painful response.”
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Iran: Hamas chief's assassination not possible without U.S. support
cgtn.com
