Senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Tehran, Iran on Wednesday in a likely Israeli airstrike, moving Israel and the Islamic Republic that much closer to open conflict. The assassination, which came as Haniyeh was attending an inauguration event for the new Iranian president, has been met with outrage from Iran and its allies, with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei now vowing “severe punishment” against the “criminal, terrorist Zionist regime.”
“The residence of Ismail Haniyeh, head of the political office of Hamas Islamic Resistance, was hit in Tehran, and as a result of this incident, he and one of his bodyguards were martyred,” Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps said in a statement. The IRGC did not comment on how the terrorist leader was killed or who might have been responsible, but Hamas immediately blamed Israel for the “treacherous Zionist raid on his residence in Tehran.”
Israel has been actively hunting Hamas officials in the wake of the October 7th attack, including those hiding in neighboring countries.
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In response to the alleged assassination, Ayatollah Khamenei declared that “it is our duty to take revenge” for the “bitter, tragic event,” though he did not name Israel specifically.
Following this bitter, tragic event which has taken place within the borders of the Islamic Republic, it is our duty to take revenge.
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) July 31, 2024
Newly inaugurated Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian further stated that his country will “defend its territorial integrity, dignity, honor, and pride, and will make the terrorist occupiers regret their cowardly act.”
امروز ایران عزیز به سوگ شریک غم و شادی خود، همراه همیشگی و پرافتخار راه مقاومت، رهبر شجاع مقاومت فلسطین، شهید القدس، حاج اسماعیل هنیه نشسته است. دیروز دست فاتح او را بالا بردم و امروز باید بر روی شانه‌هایم او را تشییع کنم.
شهادت هنر مردان خدا است. پیوند دو ملت سربلند ایران و… pic.twitter.com/s6eqHX78a8— Masoud Pezeshkian (@drpezeshkian) July 31, 2024
Connor Walcott is a staff writer for Valuetainment.com. Follow Connor on X and look for him on VT’s “The Unusual Suspects.”
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