The apparent assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran risks setting the region on fire. If Israel was responsible for killing him, as is likely, then they have killed the one person they were negotiating a ceasefire deal with. He was considered a pragmatist not only on the conflict in general, but also concerning relations with other Palestinian groups and had been prime minister of the Palestinian Authority.
Hamas confirmed the death of Haniyeh “who was martyred in a treacherous Zionist raid on his residence in Tehran after participating in the inauguration ceremony of the new Iranian president.”
The Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said in a statement that Haniyeh and one of his bodyguards were killed when their residence in Tehran was hit in an attack, reported Tasnim. The statement said the attack is under investigation and the results will be announced later.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said Haniyeh’s blood will not go in vain. The martyrdom of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran “will strengthen the deep ties between the Islamic Republic of Iran and dear Palestine and Resistance.”
“Today, dear Iran is mourning the martyrdom of the brave leader of the Palestinian Resistance Ismail Haniyeh,” the new Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote on X, reported IRNA. “Yesterday, I raised his victorious hand and today I have to carry his coffin on my shoulders,” he said further. “Haniyeh’s assassination will make stronger than before, bonds between Iran and Palestine, and the path of resistance and defense of the oppressed will be followed stronger than ever.” The Islamic Republic of Iran will defend its territorial integrity and honor and would make the terrorist occupiers regret their cowardly action, the Iranian President highlighted.
“This assassination by the Israeli occupation of Brother Haniyeh is a grave escalation that aims to break the will of Hamas,” senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters. He said Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group that ruled Gaza, would continue the path it was following, adding: “We are confident of victory.”
Qatar, which has been brokering talks aimed at halting the fighting in Gaza, condemned Haniyeh’s killing as a dangerous escalation of the conflict. China and Russia have also condemned the assassination.
Iran’s top security body met to decide Iran’s strategy in reaction to the murder of Haniyeh, a close ally of Iran, in the capital Tehran, said a source with knowledge of the situation.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the killing of Haniyeh and Palestinian factions in the occupied West Bank called for a general strike and mass demonstrations.
