TEHRAN, Iran: Iran declared its “legal right” to respond to the assassination of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, an act attributed to Israel amidst the ongoing Gaza conflict.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani stated, “No one has the right to doubt Iran’s legal right to punish the Zionist regime,” while emphasizing that Iran does not seek to escalate regional tensions.
The assassination, carried out using a “short-range projectile” by Israel, targeted Haniyeh, who was in Tehran for President Masoud Pezeshkian’s inauguration. This event has further inflamed the already tense situation following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in early October. Iran, Hamas, and other Tehran-aligned groups have pledged retaliation.
Israel has not officially commented on the assassination, which occurred shortly after Hezbollah’s military chief, Fuad Shukr, was killed in an Israeli strike in Beirut. Since early October, Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israeli forces have engaged in near-daily skirmishes.
International calls for de-escalation have grown louder in the wake of these high-profile assassinations, as global powers fear an escalation into a broader regional war. Kanani asserted that regional stability and security would be achieved by “punishing the aggressor and creating a deterrent against the adventurous behaviour and extraterritorial terrors of the Zionist regime.”
Despite not recognizing Israel, Iran has engaged in discussions with several Arab nations, including Jordan, Egypt, Oman, and Qatar, since Haniyeh’s assassination, reaffirming its right to take action against Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that Israel is maintaining a “very high level” of readiness for any scenario, both defensive and offensive.
