Europe’s Inaction Emboldens Israel, Iran Warns


TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The caretaker foreign minister of Iran deplored European governments’ muted response to the Israeli assassination of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, saying such diplomatic idleness encourages the Zionist regime to intensify its crimes.

In a telephone conversation with UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy on Tuesday, Ali Baqeri slammed the Israeli regime as the root cause of instability in the region.

The Iranian caretaker minister took a swipe at the European countries for “ruining the chance of diplomacy” with their passiveness and refusal to condemn the Israeli assassination of Haniyeh in Tehran, which he said has violated international peace and security and breached Iran’s national security and regional stability.

“The blocking of diplomatic path by the Europeans would only encourage the Zionist regime to keep up its terrorist measures and promote instability and insecurity in the region,” Baqeri said.

He also held the US and the European members of the UN Security Council accountable for obstructing the UNSC’s responsibility to act against the Israeli regime as the source of regional instability and insecurity.

Baqeri stated that no country, including Iran, would ever compromise its national security and territorial integrity.

For his part, the British foreign secretary called on Iran to show self-restraint, describing the assassination of Haniyeh as a step backward in the course of Gaza ceasefire.

Lammy also stated that the Israeli regime and Lebanon are on the verge of a war, warning that lack of self-restraint will trigger catastrophic results that would not be in anybody’s interests.

Haniyeh, who was in Tehran to attend the new Iranian president’s swearing-in ceremony, was martyred in an Israeli operation in the early hours of July 31.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei has warned the Israeli regime of a "harsh response" for Haniyeh's assassination, calling it the Islamic Republic's duty to avenge the Palestinian resistance leader's blood.