UNSC to convene emergency meeting over Haniyeh’s assassination
Shafaq News/ The UN Security Council (UNSC) will hold an emergency meeting on Wednesday following Hamas's announcement that its political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed in an Israeli strike in Tehran.
Russia, which currently holds the presidency of the Security Council, said the meeting, scheduled for 4:00 p.m. (2000 GMT), was requested by Iran and supported by Russia, China, and Algeria,
Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh has been assassinated in Tehran, Iranian state media reported Tuesday.
Haniyeh and one of his bodyguards were killed when the building they were staying in was struck, according to a statement from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Haniyeh was in Tehran to attend the inauguration ceremony of Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the recent attacks on Tehran and Beirut, describing them as a "dangerous escalation." An Israeli airstrike on Tuesday evening also resulted in the death of top Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukr in Lebanon. Guterres's spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, stated, "The Secretary-General believes that the attacks we have seen in South Beirut and Tehran represent a dangerous escalation at a moment in which all efforts should instead be leading to a ceasefire in Gaza" and "the release of all Israeli hostages."
In a letter to the Security Council, Iran's UN envoy, Amir Saeid Iravani, urged members to "condemn unequivocally and strongly the acts of aggression and terrorist attacks" by Israel against the sovereignty of Iran, Lebanon, and Syria. Iravani also called for "immediate action to ensure accountability for these violations of international law," including the possibility of sanctions.
Hamas has vowed retaliation for Israel's attacks, declaring that they "will not go unanswered," while Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has promised "harsh punishment" for the killing of Haniyeh.
