OIC: Haniyeh's Assassination Threatens to Push Middle East into Wider Conflict

The rotating presidency of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) confirmed on Wednesday that the "heinous assassination" of the former head of the political bureau of the Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas, the martyr leader Ismail Haniyeh, "threatens to push the Middle East into a wider conflict."

The Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Hussein Ibrahim Taha, said during the opening session of the extraordinary meeting of the Executive Committee at the level of foreign ministers of member states, to discuss the ongoing crimes of the Israeli occupation against the Palestinian people and its aggression against Iran, that "the heinous assassination only serves to escalate existing tensions that may lead to a wider conflict."

He also stressed that "the sovereignty of nation-states and the integrity of their territories are fundamental principles on which the international system is based."

Israel assassinated Haniyeh in a bombing that targeted the Iranian capital, Tehran, a few days ago, on July 31, 2024. The assassination came during a visit by Haniyeh to Tehran to participate in the inauguration ceremony of Iranian President, Masoud Pezeshkian. The OIC declared that the assassination of Haniyeh constituted aggression against Iran.

The OIC released a Final Statement at the conclusion of the meeitng.