By Peter Omopo
Iran’s Foreign Minister, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, has warned that the assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, following attacks by the United States and Israel, will have deep and widespread consequences.
Araghchi made the remarks in a letter addressed to United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and members of the UN Security Council, according to Iran’s official news agency, IRNA.
The letter was sent a day after the United States and Israel launched coordinated strikes on Tehran and other Iranian cities, which reportedly resulted in the death of the country’s top leader.
In the correspondence, Araghchi described the strikes as “aggressive, unprovoked and unjustified” attacks against Iran’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity. He accused the United States and Israel of deliberately targeting the highest-ranking official of an independent UN member state.
He characterised the assassination as a “cowardly terrorist action” and a direct violation of fundamental principles of international law, including the prohibition of the use of force, the sovereign equality of states and the inviolability and immunity of heads of state.
The Iranian foreign minister warned that such actions set a dangerous and unprecedented precedent that undermines state sovereignty and civilised conduct among nations, adding that the development could create serious and unforeseen global consequences. He stated that responsibility for the repercussions rests solely with those who carried out the attack.
Araghchi also reaffirmed Iran’s inherent right under the UN Charter to defend its sovereignty, territorial integrity and citizens.
