WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday said that the United States was not involved in or made aware of the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran amidst escalating tensions in the Middle East.
“This is something we were not aware of or involved in. It’s very hard to speculate,” Blinken said in an interview with Channel News Asia during a visit to Singapore, when asked what impact it could have, according to a transcript.
On Wednesday, Iranian state media reported that Haniyeh was assassinated in an airstrike while he was in Tehran for the inauguration of Iran’s newly elected President, Masoud Pezeshkian.
The strike reportedly took place at around 2 a.m. local time at a special residence designated for military veterans in northern Tehran. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) confirmed that Haniyeh and a bodyguard were killed in what they described as a “hit” on Haniyeh’s residence.
The Fars news agency, along with other Iranian sources, reported that the attack was carried out using an air-launched missile. This incident has significantly heightened tensions between Iran and Israel.
Hamas confirmed Haniyeh’s death, attributing it to an Israeli airstrike. The Palestinian group described the attack as a “Zionist strike” and declared that Haniyeh had been “martyred” during his visit to Tehran.
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei pledged “harsh punishment” for Israel following Haniyeh’s assassination. IRNA cited Khamenei as saying, “With this action, the criminal and terrorist Zionist regime prepared the ground for harsh punishment for itself, and we consider it our duty to seek revenge for his blood as he was martyred in the territory of Iran,”.
Similarly, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian pledged Wednesday to make Israel “regret” the “cowardly” killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
Pezeshkian said in a statement via social media that Iran will defend its territorial integrity, honour, pride and dignity, and “make the terrorist invaders regret their cowardly action,”. The President of Iran mourned Ismail Haniyeh as “a brave leader”.
Several countries including Pakistan, China, Turkey, Qatar and Russia condemned the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
