Beirut: Iranian leaders are in shock after the assassination of Hamas Chief Ismail Haniyeh in Iran’s capital Tehran. Iran has also threatened Israel to take revenge for the murder of Ismail Haniyeh alias Ismail Haniya. Today, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and representatives of his supported Palestinian militia stood near the funeral procession of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and his bodyguard and offered prayers. Haniyeh and his bodyguard were killed in an airstrike that has been blamed on Israel. The attack poses the threat of a wider regional war.
Khamenei stood near Haniyeh’s funeral prayer at Tehran University and offered prayers, while Iran’s new President Massoud Pezeshkian stood next to him. State television later showed the coffins of Haniyeh and his bodyguard being loaded into a truck and driven to Azadi Square in Tehran as people showered them with flowers. After the funeral prayers are offered in Tehran, Haniyeh’s body will be taken to Qatar for burial on Friday. Haniyeh was in Tehran to attend Pezeshkian’s swearing-in ceremony. Associated Press photos showed the Hamas leader sitting with leaders of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad extremist group and Hezbollah, and Iranian media showed Haniyeh and Pezeshkian embracing.
Haniyeh killed after attending Iranian President’s swearing-in ceremony and meeting Khamenei
Haniyeh had previously met Khamenei. Earlier he had attended the swearing-in ceremony of the Iranian President. But a few hours later, Haniyeh was killed in an airstrike. Haniyeh’s residence in Tehran was destroyed in this attack. Iranian officials said the attack was being investigated, but did not provide details. Israel had vowed to kill Haniyeh and other Hamas leaders over the October 7 attack on southern Israel that triggered the war in Gaza.
Israel killed the chiefs of Hezbollah and Hamas together
The attack came just hours after Israel targeted a top commander of Iran’s ally Hezbollah in the Lebanese capital Beirut. Iran supports Hamas as well as Hezbollah and other Palestinian militant groups fighting Israel in Gaza. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said “all sides” in West Asia should avoid actions that could plunge the region into further conflict. Speaking in the Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar on Thursday, Blinken urged countries to “make the right choices in the coming days” and said a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza was the only way to break the current cycle of violence and suffering. Blinken did not name Israel, Iran or Hamas in his comments.