The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has held Israel responsible for the attack that resulted in the death of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh last week in Iran, which has pledged to retaliate.
In a statement released after an extraordinary meeting of the 57-member bloc on Wednesday in Saudi Arabia, the OIC declared that it “holds Israel, the illegal occupying power, fully responsible for this heinous attack,” describing it as “a serious infringement” of Iran’s sovereignty.
The Gambia’s Foreign Minister Mamadou Tangara, whose country currently chairs the OIC, warned that Haniyeh’s “heinous” assassination, along with the ongoing conflict in Gaza, could spark a regional war.
“The aggression and violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic of Iran through the assassination of a political leader on its soil is an act that cannot be viewed in isolation,” Tangara stated.
“This heinous act serves only to escalate the existing tensions, potentially leading to a wider conflict that could engulf the entire region.”
