Iran condemns Israel’s ‘brazen admission’ of assassinating Hamas ex-leader
Iran on Tuesday denounced Israel’s “brazen admission” of having killed former Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran earlier this year, accusing the regime of having carried out a “heinous crime” and defending its missile-strike response.
“This brazen admission marks the first time the Israeli regime has openly confessed to its responsibility for this heinous crime,” said Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations Amir Saeid Iravani in a letter addressed to the UN secretary-general.
On Monday, Israel’s defense minister Israel Katz acknowledged the regime was responsible for the killing, the first time an official admission had been made.
Haniyeh, who was seen as leading Hamas’s negotiation efforts for a cease-fire in Gaza, was assassinated in a guesthouse in Tehran on July 31.
Until Monday, Israel had never admitted to killing Haniyeh, but Iran and Hamas had attributed the Hamas political leader’s death to the nation.
Iravani said that the regime of Israel remains the most serious threat to regional and international peace and security.
He urged the UN Security Council to end the impunity of a regime that flagrantly defies international law and destabilizes the region. The Iranian envoy also warned that continued silence of the council would only embolden regime to commit more atrocious crimes.
“It also reaffirms the legitimacy and legality of Iran’s defensive response on 1 October 2024,” the Iranian diplomat said.
In October, Iran said it fired 200 missiles at Israel, a response to the assassination of Haniyeh in Tehran.
“It also reaffirms the legitimacy and legality of Iran’s defensive response on 1 October 2024, as well as Iran’s consistent position that the occupying and terrorist regime of Israel remains the most serious threat to regional and international peace and security.”
On September 27, Israel also killed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in a Beirut bombing, which was followed by the killing of Haniyeh’s successor Yahya Sinwar on October 16 in Gaza.