Russian UN Envoy: Haniyeh Killing Is Attempt To Draw Iran into Confrontation

Aug. 2—Numerous governments have condemned the assassination of Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31. Russia’s first deputy envoy to the UN, Dmitry Polyanskiy, said the assassination was aimed at dragging Iran into a new war: “Those behind this political assassination must have realized how dangerous the ramifications could be for the entire region…. Such attempts to drag Iran into a regional confrontation tend to destabilize the already highly charged atmosphere in the region. The vicious practice of targeted killings of high-profile political and military figures is bringing the Middle East to the verge of a region-wide war.” He made his remarks at the UN Security Council meeting July 31, according to the Russian Mission.

China also condemned the assassination. “China firmly opposes and condemns the act of assassination and is deeply concerned that the incident may plunge the region into greater turmoil,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian July 31. “China has been calling for settling regional disputes through negotiation and dialogue and an early, comprehensive and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, and there should be no more escalation of the conflict and confrontation.”

Also denouncing the assassination was the Brazilian Foreign Ministry in a statement: “The Brazilian government strongly condemns the assassination of the head of the Hamas Political Bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, which took place today, July 31, in Tehran,” it said. “Brazil repudiates the flagrant disrespect for Iran’s sovereignty and territorial integrity…. Brazil reiterates its call to all actors to exercise maximum restraint, in order to prevent the region from entering into a conflict of major proportions and unpredictable consequences, at the cost of civilian and innocent lives.”

Egypt and Qatar, which were both acting as mediators in the Gaza ceasefire negotiations, also both denounced the killing of Haniyeh. Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that a “dangerous Israeli escalation policy” over the past two days had undermined efforts to broker an end to the fighting in Gaza. “The coincidence of this regional escalation with the lack of progress in the ceasefire negotiations in Gaza increases the complexity of the situation and indicates the absence of Israeli political will to calm it down,” the statement said. “It undercuts the strenuous efforts made by Egypt and its partners to stop the war in the Gaza Strip and put an end to the human suffering of the Palestinian people.”  Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed Bin Abdul Rahman al-Thani demanded to know on X: “How can mediation succeed when one party assassinates the negotiator on the other side?” Haniyeh had been directing the Hamas negotiators.