A statement from the 57-nation bloc said it “holds Israel, the illegal occupying power, fully responsible for this heinous attack.”
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has blamed Israel for the attack that killed Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh last week in Iran, which has vowed to retaliate.
A statement released after an extraordinary meeting of the 57-member bloc in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday said it “holds Israel, the illegal occupying power, fully responsible for this heinous attack,” which it described as “a serious attack” on Iran’s sovereignty.
Gambian Foreign Minister Mamadou Tangara, whose country chairs the OIC, said the “heinous” assassination of Haniyeh and the ongoing war in Gaza could lead to a regional conflict.
“The aggression and violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic of Iran by assassinating a political leader on its soil is an act that cannot be viewed in isolation,” Tangara said.
“This heinous act only serves to escalate existing tensions and could lead to a wider conflict that could involve the entire region.”
Iran and Palestine had called for the OIC meeting to be held in the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah. The bloc describes itself as the collective voice of the Muslim world.
Host country Saudi Arabia also said Haniyeh’s assassination was a “flagrant violation” of Iran’s sovereignty.
The kingdom’s deputy foreign minister, Waleed al-Khereiji, said his country rejected “any violation of the sovereignty of states or interference in the internal affairs of any country.”
Hamas and Iran have accused Israel of responsibility for Haniyeh’s killing in Tehran last week, but the Israeli government has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility.
Iran has vowed to retaliate, threatening Israel with “severe sanctions.” But the United States and other Western countries have called for a de-escalation.
On Wednesday, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said several OIC members agreed with Washington that an escalation would only exacerbate the ongoing crises in the region.
“We hope that at this OIC meeting the same thing will happen that we have been trying to achieve throughout the last week, which is that all parties that have a relationship with Iran will make clear to Iran – in the same way that we have made clear to the government of Israel – that it should not take any steps to escalate the conflict,” Miller said.
He added that a regional escalation could jeopardize prospects for a ceasefire agreement in Gaza.
“The message we’re sending to everybody is this: It’s clear that we’re in a very delicate time for the region. Tensions are high. We’re in the final stages of – hopefully – a ceasefire agreement,” Miller said.
“And escalation could worsen all the problems the region is facing.”
Haniyeh, who was replaced by Hamas’s Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar, led ceasefire negotiations for the Palestinian group, but the United States has not condemned his killing.
In late May, US President Joe Biden presented what he billed as a multi-phase Israeli proposal to end the war, which would see the release of Israeli captives in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners in Israel leading to a “durable” ceasefire.
Washington, which vetoed three UN Security Council measures that would have called for a ceasefire in Gaza, initially blamed Hamas for failing to reach an agreement.
But on Wednesday, Miller said additional issues and facts on the ground had come into play since May, and there were “final issues” that Hamas and Israel still needed to agree on. He stressed that the outstanding disagreements were “surmountable.”
In his speech at the OIC meeting, Gambian President Tangara called for “a lasting peace that addresses the root causes of the (Israeli-Palestinian) conflict.”
“It is crucial that the international community come together to ensure that humanitarian assistance reaches those in need and to work towards a lasting political solution that promotes peace and security for all people in the region,” Mr. Tangara said.
