Iran discusses Hamas chief's assassination with Britain, Austria

Tehran: Iran's Caretaker Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani has exchanged views on the assassination of Hamas Politburo Chief Ismail Haniyeh with British and Austrian foreign ministers.

In two separate phone calls on Tuesday with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg, Bagheri Kani condemned Israel's "acts of aggression" in the West Asia and discussed the latest regional developments, according to statements released by the Iranian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday.

He told Lammy that Israel's "acts of aggression and terror" were the causes of instability in the region, noting that the latest instances of such Israeli actions were its attacks last week against Lebanon's capital Beirut, and Iran's territory, in which it killed Haniyeh, who was the country's official guest.

Bagheri Kani said following Israel's "crime" of assassinating Haniyeh, the European sides wasted the first diplomatic opportunity by their inaction from even condemning the Israeli action.

He said the United States and a number of European countries, which had impeded the United Nations Security Council from fulfilling its duty to counter Israel, were also responsible for Israel's "malicious acts."

The British foreign secretary said Haniyeh's assassination was a "step backward" in achieving a ceasefire in Gaza. He called on Iran to exercise self-restraint, saying "catastrophic" consequences would occur," if the involved parties do otherwise, which would be in no one's interest.

Speaking to the Austrian foreign minister, Bagheri Kani said by assassinating the Hamas chief, Israel violated Iran's national sovereignty and security, regretting that some European states' silence in the face of Israel's "terrorist actions" had emboldened it to continue intensifying tension and instability in the region.

Schallenberg, for his part, expressed concern over the exacerbation of the situation in West Asia, saying Austria invited all parties to exercise restraint and highlighted the necessity to employ all diplomatic capacities to de-escalate tensions.

Haniyeh, who had been invited to attend Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian's swearing-in ceremony last Tuesday, was killed along with his bodyguard early last Wednesday when their residence in Tehran was hit, to which Iran vowed "a harsh and painful response."