Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said after Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran on Wednesday that it is Iran's duty to "take revenge" for the attack.
"The criminal and terrorist Zionist regime martyred our dear guest in our home and made us sad, but it also prepared a harsh punishment for itself," Khamenei said on his website.
"Martyr Haniyeh was willing to sacrifice his honorable life in this dignified battle for many years," he added. "He was prepared for martyrdom and had sacrificed his children and loved ones on this path. He was not afraid of being martyred on the path of God and in order to save the lives of God’s servants. However, following this bitter, tragic event which has taken place within the borders of the Islamic Republic, we believe it is our duty to take revenge."
Haniyeh was in Tehran for Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian's swearing-in on Tuesday.
HAMAS LEADER ISMAIL HANIYEH REPORTEDLY ASSASSINATED
Iran's government has announced three days of mourning following the assassination.
Khamenei had posted Tuesday morning on the social media platform X that he met with Haniyah and Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement Secretary General Ziyad al-Nakhalah.
Iran did not provide any details on how Haniyeh was killed. The incident is under investigation.
Nobody immediately took responsibility for the assassination, but Israel was quickly blamed after pledging to kill Haniyeh and other Hamas leaders over the terrorist group's Oct. 7 attack on the Jewish State, which killed 1,200 people and roughly 250 others were abducted.
While Israel did not immediately comment, it usually does not make public statements on assassinations carried out by its Mossad intelligence agency.
HAMAS LEADER HANIYEH ASSASSINATION: FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS CONDEMN ATTACK
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Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will convene a situation assessment hearing with the heads of the defense establishment on Wednesday in the wake of the assassination. Israel is increasing security for Jewish institutions around the world.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the U.S. government would seek to ease tensions but that it would help defend Israel if it were attacked.
Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said: "This assassination by the Israeli occupation of Brother Haniyeh is a grave escalation that aims to break the will of Hamas and the will of our people and achieve fake goals. We confirm that this escalation will fail to achieve its objectives."
More than 39,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 90,000 wounded in the war in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, although the count does not differentiate between civilians and terrorists.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
