DUBAI, August 1. /TASS/.

Iranian Acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani has told Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that Tehran has the legitimate right to retaliate for the assassination of Hamas Political Bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh.

"The Zionist regime has crossed a red line, endangering regional and international peace and stability. Therefore, the Islamic Republic of Iran will undoubtedly exercise its inherent and legitimate right to defend and protect its territorial integrity and national security," the Iranian Foreign Ministry quoted him as saying.

The Iranian diplomat "further expressed gratitude to Russia, as the president of the United Nations Security Council, for supporting Iran's request to hold an extraordinary session of the council. He condemned the actions of the United States and European countries in preventing the condemnation of the assassination of Martyr Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran." Bagheri stressed that "cooperation between Moscow and Tehran can prevent the aggressive actions of the Zionist regime from jeopardizing regional peace and stability."

Earlier, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported that, during talks, Lavrov and Bagheri had condemned the assassination of Haniyeh in Tehran.

On July 31, the Palestinian movement Hamas said that Haniyeh had been killed in an Israeli strike targeting the residence he was staying at in Tehran, where he had arrived for the inauguration of the country's president-elect, Masoud Pezeshkian. The Al Hadath TV channel reported that Haniyeh was killed in a direct missile strike. Al Mayadeen said, citing a source, that the missile was launched "from another country, not "from the territory of Iran." Deputy Chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau Mousa Abu Marzook has warned that Haniyeh’s assassination will not go unanswered.

A source in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told TASS that the Israeli military is not commenting on Haniyeh's death. The Jerusalem Post said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office had advised its ministers not to comment on this issue. The newspaper added that similar recommendations were issued for members of parliament.