Iran says US, European promises of truce for not responding to Haniyeh’s assassination were ‘false’

By Syed Zafar Mehdi

TEHRAN (AA) - Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said the promises of cease-fire made by Americans and Europeans if Iran did not respond to the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh were “false.”

He made the remarks during a Cabinet meeting in Tehran on Sunday evening, condemning the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Pertinently, Iran had vowed a strong response to the assassination of Haniyeh a day after he attended the swearing-in ceremony of Pezeshkian in the Iranian capital.

Nasrallah was targeted in a deadly bombing carried out by Israel in the southern suburb of Beirut on Friday. The Lebanese group confirmed his death on Saturday.

Pezeshkian termed it a “heinous crime,” saying that it once again proved that the “criminal regime adheres to none of the international norms or frameworks.”

He said the claims of American and European leaders, who had promised a “cease-fire in exchange for Iran not responding to the assassination” of former Hamas leader were “entirely false.”

“Giving such criminals more time will only embolden them to commit even more atrocities,” he said.

The Iranian president, who was in New York last week to attend the UN General Assembly summit a few days before Nasrallah’s assassination, said the Lebanese “freedom fighters must not be left alone.”

“I still believe that the Lebanese fighters and freedom fighters should not be left alone in this battle, so that this ruthless regime doesn't target one resistance country after another, shedding the blood of innocent women and children,” Pezeshkian was quoted as saying by state-run news agency IRNA.

He also stressed the “heavy responsibility” of Arab and Islamic countries in “confronting the atrocities” committed by Israel in the region.

“Islamic countries must not remain indifferent to the crimes of this regime because today it has become evident to all the people of the world who the real criminal and cause of war, insecurity, and killings around the world is,” he remarked.

He also rapped the “double standards” of Western media outlets in dealing with the “terrorism” of Israel.

Pezeshkian further said the actions of Israel “will not go unanswered”, including the killing of a senior Iranian military commander Abbas Nilforoushan, who was with Nasrallah at the time of the attack.

“A decisive response to these treacherous criminals is necessary. History has shown that liberation and awakening movements will not perish through the assassination of their leaders,” he said.

Iran’s president also reaffirmed the “full readiness” of the country’s medical apparatus and relief agencies to assist and provide aid to the Lebanese victims of the recent bombings.