News - Middle East: Iran's ambassador to the United Nations has warned the world body of attempts by Israel to expand the scope of its genocidal aggression against the Gaza Strip to the entire region.

Amir-Saeed Iravani made the remarks on Wednesday in an address to an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council after Israel assassinated Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the political bureau of the Palestinian Hamas resistance group, in the Iranian capital Tehran. The terrorist act followed the regime’s targeted killing of Fuad Shukr, a senior commander of the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah, in Beirut.

“The warmongering leaders of this rogue regime have shown complete disregard for the basic norms and principles of international law,” he said.

The Tel Aviv regime’s crimes, he added, “reveal a lack of commitment to peace and stability in the region and suggest an intention to escalate conflict and expand the war through the entire region.”

Iravani also said the Islamic Republic condemns in the strongest possible terms the terrorist assassination of Haniyeh as a violation of international law and the UN Charter, as well as a grave breach of Iran’s sovereignty and national security.

The act of terror is yet another manifestation of Israel’s “decades-long pattern of terrorism” targeting Palestinians and their supporters, he emphasized.

Haniyeh was in Tehran on an official invitation from the Iranian government to attend the inauguration of President Masoud Pezeshkian. He was targeted in his residence at around 2:00 a.m. local time on Wednesday.

“In addition to its terrorist objectives, Israel was also pursuing a political goal with this act, aiming to disrupt the first day of the new government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which has prioritized strengthening peace, and stability in the region, and enhancing cooperation and constructive engagement with international community,” the Iranian envoy said.

He further noted that the recent Israeli crime “is not isolated,” but part of a broader pattern of aggressive actions by the occupying entity against other regional nations.

He also stressed that the United States, as a strategic ally of the regime and its main supporter, is also responsible for the Israeli crime .

“This act could not have occurred without the authorization and intelligence support of the US,” Iravani said.

“The international community, particularly the United Nations Security Council cannot remain indifferent to such heinous crimes and must take decisive action to address these violations and hold the perpetrators accountable.”

Meanwhile, the Iranian ambassador complained that the inaction of the Security Council has emboldened the callous Israeli regime and encouraged it to keep committing war crimes against the oppressed people of Palestine and carry out acts of aggression against other nations in the region.

The Islamic Republic, he pointed out, has repeatedly warned of the serious repercussions that Israel's malicious activities pose to regional and international peace and security.

Despite Israeli provocations, Tehran has consistently exercised maximum restraint, Iravani asserted, recalling the regime’s deadly terrorist attack on Iran’s consulate in the Syrian capital Damascus on April 1.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran reserves its inherent right to self-defense, in accordance with international law to respond decisively to this terrorist and criminal act when it deems necessary and appropriate.” 

Source: Press TV