TEHRAN – Iran’s Acting Foreign Minister has condemned the U.S. for insulating Israel against punitive measures by the Security Council, adding that in the absence of any appropriate action by the UN body, Iran has no option but to exercise its inherent right to legitimate defense against the regime’s aggressions. 

Ali Baqeri Kani was speaking in Jeddah during an emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). The meeting was held at the request of Iran, following the Israeli assassination of the late Hamas Political Chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.  

The acting FM said that Iranian retaliation is “necessary to prevent further encroachments by this regime on the sovereignty, nationals, and territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” and added that it would be executed “at the appropriate time and in a proportionate manner.”

He said that Haniyeh’s killing could not have occurred without “U.S. consent and intelligence support,” and therefore, U.S. responsibility for the attack “should not be ignored.”

Baqeri said just how Iran was forced to take matters into its own hands in response to the regime’s aggression in April, it is once again left with no choice but to respond to Israel’s killing of Haniyeh on its own. 

"After the cowardly terrorist attack by the Israeli regime on the diplomatic premises of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Damascus, we immediately informed the Security Council about this regime's illegal actions," Baqeri Kani explained. "However, not only did the United States not condemn this attack, but it also obstructed the Security Council from taking any action."

The diplomat labeled Israel’s assassination of Haniyeh as a clear demonstration of the "terrorist crimes committed by the Israeli regime." He asserted, "These crimes once again prove that the foundation and existence of the occupying regime of Quds are based on terror, crime, aggression, and genocide."

Baqeri also talked about the regime’s ongoing crimes in Gaza, once again pointing the finger of blame at Washington for its untrammeled support for the Zionists. "Due to the extensive and unwavering support from certain Western powers, especially the United States, for this regime, the United Nations has also been unable to take any significant action to end this unprecedented massacre and destruction against Palestinian civilians,” he said before highlighting Washington’s logistical support for Israel.

The U.S. has been arming Israel with the bombs used to kill civilians in Gaza, sending multiple deliveries of weapons to the occupied territories in the past months. 

Elsewhere in his remarks, the caretaker foreign minister called on Islamic nations to back Palestinians in the face of Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza. “In the face of the widespread and horrific crimes of the Israeli regime against the Palestinian people, as well as its aggressive attacks on other countries in the region, including Lebanon, Yemen, and Syria, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation is now facing a serious test. The organization's actions in response to this situation must be comprehensive, decisive, and commensurate with the increasing expectations of the Islamic Ummah to prevent this dangerous trend against the Palestinian people.”