Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Iranian counterpart in a phone call on Sunday that China supports defending Iran’s “sovereignty, security and national dignity”, according to a statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
In the phone call, Wang reiterated Beijing’s condemnation of the July 31 assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, saying the attack violated Iran’s sovereignty and threatened regional stability.
Iran and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas blamed Israel for the attack that killed Haniyeh.
Israel has neither admitted nor denied responsibility for the killing, raising fears that a war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip could escalate into a wider Middle East war.
Iran has vowed to “severely punish” Israel over the assassination.
According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Wang told Iranian Acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani that Haniyeh’s killing “directly undermined the Gaza ceasefire negotiation process and undermined regional peace and stability.”
“China supports Iran’s efforts to safeguard its sovereignty, security and national dignity in accordance with law and maintain regional peace and stability, and is ready to maintain close communication with Iran,” Wang was quoted as saying.
Iranian President Massoud Pezechkian on Sunday named Abbas Araqchi as the country’s foreign minister. Araqchi served as Iran’s chief negotiator in nuclear talks from 2013 to 2021.
