JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia has described Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh’s killing as a “blatant violation” of Iran’s sovereignty, Al Jazeera reported.
Saudi Arabia’s deputy foreign minister Waleed al-Khereiji said his country rejects “any violation of the sovereignty of states or interference in the internal affairs of any country”. He made the statement during an extraordinary meeting of members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.
Hamas and Iran have blamed Israel for Haniyeh’s killing in Tehran on July 31. However, the Israeli government has not made any statement on Haniyeh’s killing.
The OIC has blamed Israel for the attack that killed Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. Following this, Iran has vowed to retaliate, according to the Al Jazeera report.
In a statement after the meeting, the OIC said it “holds Israel, the illegal occupying power, fully responsible for this heinous attack,” which it termed “a serious infringement” of Iran’s sovereignty.
Gambia’s Foreign Minister, Mamadou Tangara, said Haniyeh’s “heinous” killing and the ongoing war in Gaza could cause a regional conflict. He termed the killing a “violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity” of Iran.
Tangara said, “The aggression and violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic of Iran by the assassination of a political leader on its soil is an act that cannot be viewed in isolation.” “This heinous act serves only to escalate the existing tensions potentially leading to a wider conflict that could involve the entire region,” he added.
In his remarks at the OIC meeting, Tangara called for “durable peace that addresses the root causes of the [Israeli-Palestinian] conflict,” Al Jazeera reported. He called it “crucial” for the international community to come together to ensure that humanitarian aid reaches those in need and to work towards a sustainable political solution that promotes peace and security for all people in the region.
Iran and Palestine had called for the OIC meeting in Jeddah. Iran has vowed to retaliate, threatening a “harsh punishment” for Israel. However, the US and other Western nations have called for de-escalation, Al Jazeera reported. Haniyeh has been replaced by Hamas’s Gaza chief, Yahya Sinwar.
Tensions in West Asia have escalated after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced on July 31 that Ismail Haniyeh had been killed in an attack in Iran’s capital, Tehran.
In a statement, the IRGC said that Haniyeh and one of his bodyguards were killed when their house was hit in Tehran. A projectile hit a residence allocated to war veterans in Tehran at 2 am (local time) on Wednesday, according to a Press TV report.
In a statement to Mehr News Agency, the IRGC said, “With condolences to the heroic nation of Palestine and the Islamic nation and the combatants of the Resistance Front and the noble nation of Iran, this morning (Wednesday) the residence of Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the political office of the Islamic Resistance of Hamas, was hit in Tehran, and following this incident, he and one of his bodyguards were martyred.”
The IDF has also announced that top Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr was killed in the Israeli strike in southern Lebanon on July 30, which came in retaliation to the rocket attack at Golan Heights that killed 12 children, The Times of Israel reported.
Fuad Shukr, the “most senior Hezbollah military commander,” was killed in the Israeli strike, the IDF said in a statement. Shukr sat on the Jihad Council, Hezbollah’s top military body, and was considered to be the head of its strategic division.
Since the October 7 attack by Hamas, he has been managing Hezbollah’s attacks against Israel, including the deadly strike in Majdal Shams over the weekend that killed 12 children, according to the military. “Eliminated: Fuad Shukr “Sayyid Muhsan”, Hezbollah’s Most Senior Military Commander and Hassan Nasrallah’s Right-Hand Man,” the IDF said in a post on X.
“Shukr has directed Hezbollah’s attacks on the State of Israel since October 8th, and he was the commander responsible for the murder of the 12 children in Majdal Shams in northern Israel on Saturday evening, as well as the killing of numerous Israelis and foreign nationals over the years. He was also responsible for the majority of Hezbollah’s most advanced weaponry, including precise-guided missiles, cruise missiles, anti-ship missiles, long-range rockets and UAVs”, it added. (ANI)