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Russian security chief:
Haniyeh’s assassins seek to stoke regional tensions
Shoigu made the remarks during a meeting with Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Baqeri in Tehran on Monday.
Earlier on the day, the Russian official held a meeting with Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Akbar Ahmadian.
Shoigu’s visit to Tehran came as Iran is weighing a response to Israeli regime for the assassination of the Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31.
Haniyeh, head of the Palestinian resistance movement’s political bureau, was assassinated alongside one of his bodyguards in the Iranian capital on Wednesday. He had traveled to Tehran to attend the inauguration ceremony of Iran’s new President Masoud Pezeshkian.
Russia had earlier condemned the assassination of Haniyeh, calling on all parties to refrain from steps that could tip the Middle East into a wider regional war.
During the Monday meeting, the Russian official described relations between Tehran and Moscow as strategic and deep-rooted, which will not be affected by the change in the governments.
Iran recently elected Masoud Pezeshkian as the country’s new president in a snap election which was held following the death of the late president Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash in May.
The visit by the top Russian official came a day after Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi discussed regional issues and ties with Iranian officials during a one-day visit to Tehran.
Pezeshkian told the Jordanian top diplomat that the Israeli regime’s assassination of Haniyeh in Tehran violated all international regulations and was a “big mistake” that will not go unanswered.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran expects all Muslim countries and free nations in the world to strongly condemn such crimes,” he added.
He emphasized that the biggest enemies and violators of freedom, democracy and human rights are making use of their utmost scientific and operational capabilities to carry out terrorist acts and commit heinous crimes.
“They claim to defend freedom, democracy and human rights and introduce anyone who refrains from abiding by them as the enemy of such principles and values,” the Iranian president said.