Iran vows 'decisive' response to Hamas leader's assassination as Israel braces for retaliation

Iran vowed on Monday to take "decisive" action against the "aggressor" behind the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, accusing Israel of carrying out a "cowardly" attack.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said the killing of Haniyeh, who was in Iran for the swearing-in of President Masoud Pezeshkian, was a "flagrant violation" of international law.

Iran will take its serious and deterrent action with "strength and decisiveness" to punish the "aggressor" based on its inherent right and the international law principles, Kanaani said at a weekly press conference.

He added that Tehran would pursue the matter through the United Nations and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, which will hold an emergency meeting of foreign ministers on Wednesday.

The same day, Iran's Acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani, when meeting with foreign diplomats in Tehran, called Haniyeh's assassination was against international law as well as regional and international security and stability, and violated Iran's national sovereignty and territorial integrity. He vowed that Iran will make a clear and decisive response to the Israeli actions.

Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has said Iran will teach Israel and its supporter, the United States, a "historic lesson."

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Commander Hossein Salami has also warned that Israel is "digging its own grave" with its actions in its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip and will get their response.

Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Sunday Israel was "prepared very strongly" and ready to respond quickly to a potential Iranian retaliatory attack, adding that Israel will exact a price from the enemy.

According to U.S. and Israeli media reports, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) commander General Michael Kurilla had arrived in Israel amid the soaring tensions between Iran and Israel.

According to the Lebanese military, Israel launched airstrikes and artillery attacks on several locations in southern Lebanon Sunday, killing two Hezbollah members, while Hezbollah said Monday it used multiple drones to attack Israeli military targets in the northern. According to the Israeli military, the attack wounded two Israeli soldiers.

France, Italy, Brazil, and Saudi Arabia warned their citizens not to travel to Lebanon and urged those already in the country to leave as soon as possible due to the risk of military escalation in the Middle East.

Iran vows 'decisive' response to Hamas leader's assassination as Israel braces for retaliation

China has played a pivotal role in peaceful development around the globe by strengthening China-Africa cooperation and promoting peace and security among Global South partners, said Cameroon's Defense Minister Joseph Beti Assomo during the Beijing Xiangshan Forum.

The 11th Beijing Xiangshan Forum is being held in the Chinese capital from Thursday to Saturday.

With the theme of "Promoting Peace for a Shared Future," this year's forum involved more than 500 representatives from official delegations of more than 100 countries and international organizations, as well as more than 200 Chinese and foreign experts and scholars. Among them, the official delegation includes more than 30 defense ministers and military chiefs.

Prior to the Xiangshang Forum, Assomo had participated in the 2024 Summit of Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), which ran from Sept 4 to 6 in Beijing. Both forums, he said in an exclusive interview with China Central Television (CCTV), have demonstrated how China creates opportunities for peace across Africa, the most critical premise for the continent's development.

"You see the theme of this event, as on the wall, 'Promoting Peace for a Shared Future', promoting peace. When there is war somewhere, development is not possible. There are many wars in Africa, so we expect more and more close cooperation between China and Africa, so that we can give peace a chance everywhere in Africa. And I think you are working in that way and you are succeeding," he said.

The defense minister stressed that more developed countries have a responsibility to help underdeveloped countries achieve common prosperity instead of creating barriers and wars.

"You have a Global South, it means we also have a Global North. So, if we can work hand-in-hand for all humanity so that those who have power, economical, political, or diplomatic power, can work hand-in-hand with those who are not developed or who are poor, so that there could be human solidarity. We have that dream, and we are doing that with China," he said.

Initiated in 2006, the Beijing Xiangshan Forum is a high-level platform dedicated to promoting exchanges and cooperation among defense authorities, armed forces, international organizations and scholars.  

Dream of human solidarity forms basis for China-Global South cooperation: Cameroonian minister