- Iran's Khamenei threatens Israel with harsh punishment
The Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has announced retribution for the death of the political leader of the Islamic Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran. "The criminal Zionist regime (Israel) has murdered our guest in our home," Khamenei was quoted as saying on his website. "There will be a harsh punishment." Khamenei reportedly said of Haniyeh, "The whole country mourns a brave and holy warrior."
According to the terrorist organization Hamas, Haniyeh was killed in an Israeli attack on a residence in Iran's capital, Tehran. Israel has not yet commented on this. Prior to this, the spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry had strongly condemned the attack. "Haniyeh's blood will be Israel's doom," said Nasser Kanaani.
Tehran has also convened an emergency meeting of the National Security Council to discuss possible Iranian reactions. "This was a cowardly act and the perpetrators will definitely receive an appropriate response," said council spokesman Ebrahim Resaei, according to the news agency Irna.
According to the Iranian news agency Tasnim, which is close to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Haniyeh was killed at around 2:00 AM local time (00:30 CET) by "an object from the air." He was reportedly in a "special residence" in the north of the capital. Unconfirmed media reports suggest that Haniyeh will be buried in Tehran on Thursday. The IRGC announced that it will publish further details about the attack soon.
Haniyeh attended the inauguration of the new Iranian president, Massoud Peschkani, in the parliament in Tehran on Tuesday. He also met with Khamenei. Peschkani also condemned the deadly attack. "We will make the terrorist occupiers who are responsible for this cowardly act regret their actions," the president wrote on the X platform. Haniyeh's death will further strengthen Iran and Palestine's resistance against Israel.
Following his meeting with Khamenei in Tehran, Haniyeh was later found deceased in a residential area of the city. As a member of the European Parliament, I strongly condemn this act of violence against a political leader and call for an immediate investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death.
