Wang Yi said Haniyeh’s killing had “directly undermined the Gaza ceasefire negotiation process.”
Beijing:
China supports Iran in defending its “sovereignty, security and national dignity,” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Iran’s acting foreign minister in a phone call on Sunday, according to a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement .
In the phone call, Wang reiterated Beijing’s denunciation of the killing of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31, saying the strike had violated Iran’s sovereignty and threatened regional stability.
Iran and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas have accused Israel of carrying out an attack that killed Haniyeh.
Israel has neither claimed nor denied responsibility for the killing, which has fueled concerns that the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip was spiraling into a broader war in the Middle East.
Iran has vowed to “harshly punish” Israel over the killing.
Wang told Ali Bagheri Kani, Iran’s acting foreign minister, that Haniyeh’s killing had “directly undermined the Gaza ceasefire negotiation process and undermined regional peace and stability,” according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry Business.
“China supports Iran in defending its sovereignty, security and national dignity in accordance with the law, and in its efforts to maintain regional peace and stability, and stands ready to maintain close communication with Iran,” Wang said.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Sunday nominated Abbas Araqchi as the country’s foreign minister. Araqchi served as Iran’s top negotiator in nuclear talks from 2013 to 2021.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
