BREAKING: Iran’s Supreme Leader Holds Funeral for Hamas Leader After Assassination Blamed on Israel
In a somber ceremony, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei presided over the funeral of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and his bodyguard, who were killed in an assassination blamed on Israel. The attack has raised concerns of an all-out regional war.
The funeral was held at Tehran University, where Khamenei prayed over Haniyeh’s coffin alongside Iran’s new President Masoud Pezeshkian. State television showed the coffins being placed in a truck and moved towards Azadi Square in Tehran, with people throwing flowers at them.
Haniyeh’s remains will be transferred to Qatar for burial on Friday. He was in Tehran to attend the inauguration of Pezeshkian when he was killed in an airstrike that hit a residence he uses in the city. Iranian authorities have launched an investigation, but have not provided further details.
Israel had previously pledged to kill Haniyeh and other Hamas leaders in retaliation for the group’s October 7 attack on southern Israel, which sparked the war in Gaza. The airstrike came just hours after Israel targeted a top commander in Iran’s ally Hezbollah in the Lebanese capital Beirut.
Iran supports Hamas, as well as Hezbollah and other Palestinian resistance groups in Gaza. The assassination has heightened tensions in the region, with fears of a wider conflict between Israel and its enemies.
As the world watches the situation unfold, the funeral of Haniyeh serves as a poignant reminder of the fragile peace in the Middle East and the devastating consequences of violence and retaliation.
