Iran has vowed to avenge the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh who died in an overnight air strike in Tehran, according to Iranian media.
Both Hamas and Iran blame Israel for the strike which targeted l Haniyeh residence while he was visiting Iran to attend the inauguration of President Masoud Pezeshkian.
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The killing, just hours after an Israeli strike on a Hezbollah commander in Lebanon, has heightened fears of even wider conflict in the Middle East
RT reports: Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri accused Israel of the assassination and called it “a grave escalation” in a comment to Reuters. Israel has yet to comment on the killing.
It comes less than a day after Israel attacked the Lebanese capital Beirut in what its forces said was a targeted strike on Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr.
Israel had vowed to eliminate Haniyeh and other leaders of Hamas in response to the group’s October 7 attack that left 1,200 dead and saw some 250 others taken hostage.
12:59 GMT
The Iranian Foreign Ministry has accused the US of being complicit in the “heinous” assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, noting in a statement on Telegram that Washington has been a “supporter and accomplice of the Zionist regime in the continuation of the occupation and genocide of Palestinians.”
12:54 GMT
Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis has expressed concern over the news of Ismail Haniyeh’s assassination, warning that such a strike “increases the risk of a very serious escalation.”
“This [attack] is obviously in line with Israel’s strategy to eliminate Hamas leaders,” Cassis told the Swiss newspaper Blick. “But the international consequences should not be underestimated, much less forgotten,” he added.
12:14 GMT
The Iranian government has raised the “red flag of revenge” over the Jamkaran Mosque in the city of Qom following the assassination of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
A video showing the raising of the flag appears to have been filmed by an Iranian TV channel and was shared on social media by the Clash Report.
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