Iran summons envoys to affirm right to respond to Israel strikes

The Iranian Foreign Ministry has summoned ambassadors and heads of diplomatic missions residing in Tehran to confirm its right and determination to respond to Israel, following the assassination of Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran last week.

“Iran’s Acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri participated in a meeting with foreign ambassadors, charge d’affaires and heads of foreign and international missions residing in Tehran at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in order to explain the views of the Islamic Republic of Iran on the Zionist regime’s terrorist attack that martyred Ismail Haniyeh…. in Tehran,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Spokesman, Nasser Kanaani, said the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) will also hold an emergency meeting tomorrow at Tehran’s request, to discuss Haniyeh’s assassination and the expected Iranian response.

Kanaani said earlier in the day that Tehran does not actively seek to escalate regional tensions, but believes that “it is within its right to punish Israel to prevent further instability.

“Iran seeks to establish stability in the region, but this will only come with punishing the aggressor and creating deterrence against the adventurism of the Zionist regime,” said Kanaani.

He called on the United States to end its backing for Israel and instead support the “punishment of the aggressor”.

He added that the international community had not fulfilled its duty to protect regional stability and should support “punishing the aggressor”.

READ: Iran says it does not want regional escalation but must ‘punish’ Israel

While Iran and its allies vow to respond to the assassination of Haniyeh and the military commander of the Lebanese Hezbollah, Fuad Shukr, in an Israeli strike near Beirut last week, Washington has strengthened its military presence in the region to defend Israel, while stressing at the same time “making diplomatic efforts to avoid escalation”.

Iranian officials, led by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, have threatened Israel with “severe punishment”. Hezbollah has also vowed to respond to Shukr’s killing.

Since Haniyeh’s assassination, several parties have been making efforts to prevent a regional escalation.

The White House announced that President Joe Biden will convene the National Security Council “to discuss developments in the Middle East”.

Meanwhile, the head of the Russian National Security Council, Sergei Shoigu, arrived in Iran to discuss with President Masoud Pezeshkian and senior military and security officials strengthening “bilateral cooperation”, according to the RIA Novosti news agency.

In Geneva, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, expressed “deep concern about the growing risk of a wider conflict in the Middle East” and called on “all parties, including influential countries, to act urgently to de-escalate the situation, which has become extremely dangerous”.

The G7 foreign ministers expressed “deep concern” over fears of escalation in the Middle East on Sunday.