The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting at 4:00 pm (2000 GMT) today, following a request by Iran and supported by representatives of Russia, China, and Algeria, said a spokesman for the Russian presidency, which currently holds the rotating leadership of the council.
This request comes shortly after Israel assassinated Palestinian leader Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the Hamas Political Bureau, on Wednesday morning during an official visit to Iran.
Separately, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the attacks on Tehran and Beirut as a “dangerous escalation.” An Israeli strike on Tuesday evening also killed top Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in Lebanon. “The Secretary-General believes that the attacks we have seen in South Beirut and Tehran represent a dangerous escalation at a moment in which all efforts should instead be leading to a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of all Israeli hostages,” said his spokesman Stephane Dujarric in a statement.
In a letter to the Security Council, Iran’s UN envoy Amir Saeid Iravani called on members to “condemn unequivocally and strongly the acts of aggression and terrorist attacks” by Israel on the sovereignty of Iran, Lebanon, and Syria. He also urged council members to take “immediate action to ensure accountability for these violations of international law,” including potential sanctions.
Hamas has vowed that Israel’s attacks “will not go unanswered,” while Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei has threatened “harsh punishment” for Haniyeh’s killing.
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