China supports Iran in defending security, sovereignty: FM
Iran to hit back at Israel within ‘int’l principles’
China supports Iran in defending its “sovereignty, security and national dignity,” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Iran’s acting foreign minister in a phone call on Sunday, according to a statement by China’s Foreign Ministry.
Wang repeated Beijing’s denunciation of the assassination of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31, saying the strike had violated Iran’s sovereignty and threatened regional stability, Reuters reported.
Iran has vowed to “harshly punish” Israel over the assassination.
Israel has neither claimed nor denied responsibility for the assassination, which has fueled concern that the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip was turning into a wider Middle East war.
In a series of posts on X social media platform on Sunday, Baqeri said Iran is seeking to prevent realization of the Israeli regime’s “dream” of triggering an all-out regional war.
At the same time as trying to confront the Israeli provocations of further regional hostilities, the Islamic Republic was seeking to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of the regime within the framework of the international law and the United Nations Charter, Baqeri added.
In the Sunday phone call, Wang also told Iran’s acting foreign minister that the killing of Haniyeh had “directly undermined the Gaza ceasefire negotiation process and undermined regional peace and stability.”
“China supports Iran in defending its sovereignty, security and national dignity in accordance with the law, and in its efforts to maintain regional peace and stability, and stands ready to maintain close communication with Iran,” Wang was quoted as saying.
‘Inherent defense
right’
Also, in a telephone conversation with Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib on Saturday, Iran’s interim foreign minister highlighted his country’s inherent right to respond to Israeli acts of aggression in accordance with “international principles and the UN Charter.”
He said Iran will “legitimately” and “decisively” make Israel pay for its crimes, including the assassination of the Hamas chief.
Baqeri said that Israel has destabilized West Asia with its strikes on Gaza and Lebanon and the “coward” assassination of Haniyeh on Iranian soil.
For her part, Lahbib voiced deep concern over the unfolding developments in West Asia, saying, “Brussels is worried about the deterioration of the situation in the region as lack of control over the state of affairs will result in a full-blown war.”
She expressed support for the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and denounced the construction of illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Lahbib added that Belgium supports the right of return of Palestinian refugees and at the same time seeks imposition of sanctions against extremist Israeli settlers.
The top Belgian diplomat underlined the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, stating that all parties should exercise maximum restraint in light of the worsening situation in West Asia and that continued consultation between Tehran and Brussels is highly required in this regard.
Baqeri also held a similar phone conversation with Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp.
The two exchanged views over the Israeli assassination of Haniyeh and the Israeli strike on a school sheltering displaced people in Gaza City that killed more than 100 Palestinians and wounded dozens of others.
Baqeri told Veldkamp that Western countries would have lectured others on the defense of human beings and human rights and employed all their capacities in case the attack on the al-Tabin school in Gaza City’s al-Daraj neighborhood had been carried out by an entity other than the Zionist regime.
He criticized some European countries for remaining silent on Israel’s terrorist acts which contravene international law, pointing to the Israeli violation of Iran’s national sovereignty and security following Haniyeh’s targeted killing in Tehran.
“Such measures have resulted in the continuation of the Zionist regime’s brutalities and uptick in its atrocities,” he noted.
‘Heartbreaking’ attack
Veldkamp, for his part, voiced concern regarding the escalation of tensions in West Asia, saying the Israeli attack on the al-Tabin school in Gaza was “heartbreaking.”
He also called for a ceasefire and the dispatch of humanitarian aid convoys to Gaza.
Also, in a telephone conversation with Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi on Saturday, Baqeri Kani called upon all Muslim countries to join forces and deter the Israeli regime through effective and unified measures.
Marsudi, for her part, emphasized that Israeli crimes, including Haniyeh’s killing in Tehran, pose grave danger to international peace and security.
“Indonesia condemns the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, and considers it as an example of violation of the national sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” she stated.