TEHRAN – Iranian acting foreign minister addressed the recent assassination of Ismail Haniyeh by Israel, describing it as part of a broader genocide project against the Palestinian people.

Ali Baqeri Kani made the remarks at a meeting with ambassadors and heads of foreign missions, held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tehran, on Monday.

Baqeri Kani highlighted that the meeting aimed to clarify the scope of the Zionist regime’s terrorist attack, which occurred at dawn on Wednesday, July 31. This attack resulted in the death of Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas' political bureau, and his bodyguard.

"Indifference to injustice leads to inaction, and inaction emboldens the criminal," Baqeri Kani remarked, emphasizing the moral responsibility to combat evil. He criticized indifference and appeasement in the face of atrocities, describing them as moral failures that enable the growth of wickedness.

The acting foreign minister condemned the ongoing occupation of Palestinian lands, which he stated has persisted for eight decades. He detailed the brutal reality faced by Palestinians, including the killing of the young and old, the mutilation of women and children, and the assassination or imprisonment of intellectuals. 

Baqeri Kani underscored that a deliberate and systematic genocide project against Palestinians is being executed.

Specifically addressing the recent surge in violence, Baqeri pointed to ten months of continuous crimes by the Zionist regime in Gaza. "The assassination of Haniyeh is part of the genocide project against Palestinians and nothing else," he declared, asserting that this project is being implemented on multiple levels.

It has been over nine months since Israel launched a war on Gaza following a surprise retaliatory operation by Palestinian Resistance groups. The conflict has resulted in the deaths of at least 39,600 Gazans, mostly women, children, and adolescents, with another 91,469 Palestinians injured.

Also, in a post on his X account on Monday, Baqeri Kani criticized the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for its failure to react to crimes committed by the Zionist regime, blaming the council's stance as one of the reasons behind instability in the West Asia region.

He emphasized that the UNSC and the European Union's failure to react to the crimes committed by the Zionist regime, including the mass killing of children and women in Gaza, and the assassination of Palestinian leaders in other countries, is one of the most important factors of instability in the region.

He underlined that the Islamic Republic of Iran will exercise its legitimate and inherent right to confront the terrorist acts committed by the Israeli regime with the aim of protecting its national security.