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 Sunday, according to a Chinese foreign ministry statement.
In the phone call, Wang reiterated Beijing’s denunciation of the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31, saying the strike violated Iran’s sovereignty and threatened regional stability.
Iran and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas have accused Israel of carrying out the strike that killed Haniyeh.
Israel has neither claimed nor denied responsibility for the killing, fueling fears that the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip could escalate into a wider war in the Middle East.
Iran has vowed to “severely punish” Israel for the assassination.
Wang told Ali Bagheri Kani, Iran’s acting foreign minister, that Haniyeh’s assassination had “directly undermined the Gaza ceasefire negotiation process and damaged regional peace and stability,” the Chinese foreign ministry said.
“China supports Iran in defending its sovereignty, security and national dignity in accordance with law, and in its efforts to maintain regional peace and stability, and stands ready to maintain close communication with Iran,” Wang said.
Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian on Sunday appointed Abbas Araqchi as his new foreign minister. Araqchi served as Iran’s chief negotiator in nuclear talks from 2013 to 2021.
