Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, briefing the Council on alarming developments in the Middle East, said that, earlier today, Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas’ political bureau, was killed, together with a bodyguard in Tehran. Mr. Haniyeh had been in Tehran, at the invitation of Iran’s Government, to attend the inauguration ceremony of the new President, Masoud Pezeshkian. In a letter to the Council President today, Iran accused Israel of carrying out an attack that killed Mr. Haniyeh and claimed it was a “serious infringement” of Iran’s sovereignty and territory integrity and constituted a “blatant violation” of international law. Iran’s Supreme Leader and other senior officials have vowed to avenge Mr. Haniyeh’s death, warning Israel of “harsh punishment […] intended to instil deep regret in the perpetrator.” Various non-State armed groups aligned with Iran across the region have also threatened to retaliate against Israel, she added. […]
Echoing the words of the UN Secretary-General who has “consistently called for maximum restraint by all”, she said that “it is increasingly clear, however, that restraint alone is insufficient at this extremely sensitive time”. Diplomatic efforts to change the trajectory and seek a path towards regional peace and stability are urgently needed, she said, stressing that “communication by means of missiles, armed drones and other deadly attacks must end”. Instead, she called for regional de-escalation and underscored that “the international community must work together to prevent any actions that could make the conflict much bigger and wider very quickly”. Läs artikel