Iran stresses its right to self-defense
China DailyPeople take part in a protest against the assassination of Hamas Politburo Chief Ismail Haniyeh in the West Bank city of Hebron, July 31, 2024. Nasser Kanaani, spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran, criticized on Tuesday the joint statement by France, Germany, and the United Kingdom on the contentious Middle East issue, accusing the Western countries of ignoring Israel's crimes against the Palestinians while dictating to Iran what response measures it should or should not take following the assassination of Haniyeh. "The situation in the Middle East is highly volatile and if global powers aren't cautious, it could escalate into a world war," Abdul Wahed Jalal Nori, an analyst and lecturer at the Department of Fundamental and Inter-Disciplinary Studies at the International Islamic University Malaysia, told China Daily. For months, he said, the US has "tried to isolate the war on Gaza", but Israel's inability to defeat Hamas has "led to recent escalations in Iran and Lebanon, including the assassination of Haniyeh in Teheran, further muddying the waters". "The US is not acting as a rational power considering its global interests, instead allowing itself to be influenced by Israel's actions which appears to be marching to the beat of its own drum without strategic foresight," Alakhras told China Daily, adding that the critical moment highlights the need for other major powers to "step up to the plate".