Human Rights Chief: Iran’s Response to Haniyeh Assassination Complies with Intl. Law

By Staff, Agencies

Iran’s top human rights official asserts that the Islamic Republic is entitled, under international law, to respond to the apartheid “Israeli” entity’s assassination of senior Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, which took place in Tehran.

Kazem Gharibabadi, secretary of Iran’s High Council for Human Rights, made these remarks in a televised interview on Sunday. Haniyeh, head of the Palestinian resistance movement’s Political Bureau, was assassinated alongside one of his bodyguards in the Iranian capital on Wednesday.

Gharibabadi emphasized that Iran was “completely rightful” to deliver an “appropriate response” to the assassination, in accordance with Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, which entitles member states to self-defense if subjected to an armed attack.

“Any response from the Islamic Republic to this terrorist act would be entirely consistent with international law and the UN Charter,” Gharibabadi stated.

Iran has accused the “Israeli” entity of the assassination, with the Leader of the Islamic Revolution His Eminence Imam Sayyed Ali Khamenei warning of a "harsh response" and reaffirming the Islamic Republic's duty to avenge the blood of the resistance leader.

Gharibabadi highlighted that the “Israeli” entity’s atrocities against the Islamic Republic are not confined to this assassination.

He noted that Tel Aviv has previously engaged in “systematic and continuous” aggression against Iran, including the targeted killings of Iranian nuclear scientists and military advisors, as well as numerous acts of sabotage.

He further remarked that the entity’s assassination of Haniyeh and its ongoing war of genocide against Palestinian women and children in the Gaza Strip do not showcase the entity’s strength.

“This highlights the Zionist entity’s weakness and ignominy,” Gharibabadi said, noting that the entity resorts to these atrocities due to its failure to achieve its strategic goals in Gaza.