Iran’s acting foreign minister said the country would respond to the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh at the “appropriate time” in the “appropriate way”, after a day of tense diplomacy in the Middle East.
His comments came during an emergency meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), a group of Muslim-majority countries, meeting in Saudi Arabia to discuss Iran’s response to the killing.
The United States said it hoped OIC members would warn Iran against taking “steps that could escalate the conflict”.
Tensions in the Middle East have spiked since Haniyeh’s assassination in Tehran last week. Iran and its allies blame Israel, although Israel has not commented.
The OIC met in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah on Wednesday, at the request of Iranian and Palestinian officials.
Iran’s acting Foreign Minister Baqeri Ali Bagheri Kani told members that “it is expected” they will support Iran’s response to the killing.
“Iran’s actions are not only aimed at protecting its sovereignty and national security, but also at protecting the stability and security of the entire region,” he said.
A statement later released by the OIC said the bloc held Israel “fully responsible” for the “brutal attack” which it described as a “serious violation” of Iran’s sovereignty.
But the report does not support any military action by Iran.
In April, Iran launched more than 300 missiles and drones at Israel – most of which were shot down – in retaliation for an attack on its diplomatic compound in Syria. Many fear Iran’s response this time could take a similar form.
OIC President Mamadou Tangara said Haniyeh’s killing had the potential to spark “a broader conflict that could involve the entire region”.
He said the killings “will not extinguish the Palestinian cause but rather aggravate it”.
Saudi Arabia commented on the killing for the first time on Wednesday, with Deputy Foreign Minister Waleed Al-Khuraiji calling it a “blatant violation” of Iran’s sovereignty.
US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the US hopes “all parties dealing with Iran will impress upon Iran, just as we have impressed upon the government of Israel, that they should not take any steps to escalate the conflict”.
Miller said the United States had been in contact with a number of OIC members and believed there was “broad consensus” that “escalation only exacerbates the problems facing the region.”
Diplomatic efforts have been underway since the start of the week, with US President Joe Biden speaking by phone with the leaders of Jordan, Qatar and Egypt on Tuesday.
“No one should escalate this conflict. We’ve engaged in robust diplomacy with allies and partners, communicating that message directly to Iran. We’ve communicated that message directly to Israel,” US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on Tuesday.
In a phone call on Wednesday, French President Emmanuel Macron told Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian that Iran’s escalation “will cause lasting damage to the stability of the region.”
His office said Pezeshkian told Macron that if the West wanted to prevent war then “it must immediately stop selling weapons and supporting” Israel.
