Hamas: Israel assassinates Ismail Haniyeh in Iran

Hamas’ political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated at his residence in the suburb of Tehran on Wednesday, a day after he attended the inauguration of Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian in Tehran.

The assassination comes less than a day after Israel attempted to kill the most senior military commander of the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah in a targeted strike in Beirut which killed three people, including two children and wounded 74 others.
Avenging Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh’s assassination is “Tehran’s duty” because it occurred in the Iranian capital, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday.
He said Israel had provided the grounds for “harsh punishment” for itself.
He also said in a post on the X platform that his country will defend its territorial integrity and make those responsible regret their actions.
Hamas has blamed Israel for the assassination, initially it was reported that the Hamas leader was killed in a raid, which immediately put spotlight on the past hit-and-run assassinations carried out by Israel on the Iranian soil where Tel Aviv has used infiltrators and local assets.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the assassination, saying the killing would not break Palestinians’ will.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said he was “deeply saddened” to hear that Haniyeh had been “martyred”, adding that he had become a symbol of Palestinian resistance.
“He had devoted his life to the Palestinian cause, and to bringing peace and tranquillity to Palestine,” Fidan added on social media platform X, sharing a photograph of himself and Haniyeh.
Russia’s foreign ministry also condemned the killing and called for restraint to stop the Middle East tipping into a large-scale war.
China condemned the assassination, with its foreign ministry warning the incident could lead to further regional instability.