Iran vows 'severe punishment' for Israel after Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh 'killed in Israeli strike in Tehran'
31 July 2024, 12:30
Iran has vowed "severe punishment" for Israel after Hamas' political leader was killed in an airstrike in Tehran.
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Both the IRGC and Hamas have said they blame Israel for the attack on Ismail Haniyeh.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said: "With this action, the criminal and terrorist Zionist regime has paved the way for its own severe punishment.
"We view it as our duty to avenge his martyrdom which happened within the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran."
Israel has not confirmed that it was responsible for strike, but said it was assessing the situation.
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Haniyeh was in Tehran to attend Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian's swearing-in ceremony on Tuesday.
Iran gave no details on how Haniyeh was killed, and the Revolutionary Guard said the attack was under investigation.
Haniyeh left the Gaza Strip in 2019 and had lived in exile in Qatar.
Israel has vowed to kill Haniyeh and other leaders of Hamas over the group's October 7 attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw some 250 others taken hostage.
The top Hamas leader in Gaza is Yehya Sinwar, who masterminded the October 7 attack.
Iranian state television reported on his death early on Wednesday, and analysts immediately began blaming Israel for the attack.
Israel is suspected of running a years-long assassination campaign targeting Iranian nuclear scientists and others associated with its atomic programme.
In its campaign since, Israel has killed more than 39,360 Palestinians and wounded more than 90,900, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, whose count does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
