Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Hosseini Khameini ordered direct attack on Israel to avenge the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh (1962/63 - July 31, 2024), the Chairperson (Political Bureau) of the Palestinian Hamas Movement and former Prime M…
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Hosseini Khameini ordered direct attack on Israel to avenge the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh (1962/63 - July 31, 2024), the Chairperson (Political Bureau) of the Palestinian Hamas Movement and former Prime Minister of Gaza, in Tehran! Immediately after receiving the message, the National Military Council of Iran held an urgent meeting on July 31 (2024) night. It is feared that the war situation in West Asia may become more critical in such a situation, as the killing of the top Hamas leader in the Iranian capital on July 30 (2024) night could drag the US into war! Meanwhile, the funeral of Haniyeh was held in Tehran on August 1 (2024).
Ayatollah Khamenei, who personally convened the National Military Council meeting, stated: "The criminal Zionist Regime (Israel) has martyred our guests and they have brought harsh punishment on themselves." Then, he ordered strong retaliation, saying: "It should be our duty to pay blood for the bitter incident that occurred on the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran." Although the Supreme Iranian leader has frequently mentioned hostile counter-action against Israel and the US, analysts are of the opinion that his latest remark that "retaliation is obligatory" is more advanced than those he made in the past.
A similar meeting of the National Military Council was called after two senior Iranian military commanders were killed in an airstrike in Syria in April 2024. Ayatollah Khamenei had also ordered an all-out military attack against the US after Qasem Soleimani (March 11, 1957 - January 3, 2020), an Iranian military officer, was killed in a US missile strike near the Iraqi capital of Baghdad four years ago. Soleimani, who served in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), was the Commander of the Quds Force, an IRGC Division primarily responsible for extraterritorial and clandestine military operations, from 1998 until his assassination. He also played quite an important role in the Syrian Civil War through securing Russian intervention. Soleimani was widely considered as "the single most powerful operative in the Middle East" and a "genius of asymmetric warfare". Former Mossad Director Yossi Cohen reportedly said that Soleimani's strategies had "personally tightened a noose around Israel's neck."
Haniyeh, who used to live in Qatar, arrived in Tehran on July 30 to attend the swearing-in ceremony of newly-elected Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. Ziyad al-Nakhalah (also known as Ziad Nakhale), the leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), Deputy Secretary General of Hezbollah Sheikh Naeem Qasem and Houthi spokesperson Mohammad Abdul Salam were also present at the event.
Incidentally, Haniyeh went to a government guest-house in northern Tehran just hours after the swearing-in ceremony. He was scheduled to return to Doha on July 31. In a statement, Hamas has claimed that the airstrike was carried out on the guest-house at around 2am on July 31. According to the Palestinian Movement, Haniyeh, along with one of his bodyguards, were killed by the Zionist Regime! It added: "Haniyeh was killed in a Zionist raid at his residence in Tehran. Revenge is inevitable due to serious provocation." The Iranian Revolutionary Guards, too, confirmed the death of the top Hamas leader in an airstrike. Although Mossad, the national intelligence agency of the State of Israel, has been accused of involvement in Haniyeh's assassination by the Arab World and some other countries, Tel Aviv has neither confirmed nor denied being behind the killing of Hamas chief.
Meanwhile, senior spokesperson for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Nasser Khanani stressed: "Haniyeh's blood will not be in vain. Haniyeh's martyrdom in Tehran will strengthen deep and inseparable ties between Iran, Palestinians and insurgents."
It may be noted that Haniyeh had been the face of Hamas' international diplomacy for a long time. He was also leading the Hamas delegation in internationally brokered indirect talks with Israel on reaching a ceasefire in the Palestinian enclave. Earlier, the Israeli Defence Forces were accused of killing several family members of Haniyeh. In June 2024, Israel carried out an airstrike on houses in Al-Shati, one of the Gaza Strip's eight historic refugee camps, killing 24 people. The airstrike also killed 10 members of Haniyeh's family as they were staying near Al-Shati refugee camp. The Hamas chief also lost his three sons, Hazem, Amir and Mohammad, and a number of grandchildren in an attack by Israeli Forces in northern Gaza in April (2024)!
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