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Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has led funeral prayers for Hamas's Political Bureau Chief Ismail Haniyeh and his security guard, who were assassinated during his visit to Tehran on Wednesday.
During a ceremony held at Tehran University on Thursday, Ayatollah Khamenei paid homage to the Hamas chief and his bodyguard, identified as Wasim Abu Shaaban.
Massive crowds of Iranian mourners took part in funeral procession for the assassinated Hamas official.
Haniyeh was in the Iranian capital to attend Tuesday’s swearing-in ceremony of Iran’s newly-elected President Masoud Pezeshkian, where he was accompanied by other Axis of Resistance leaders.
The details of the assassination plot aren’t known yet, but the preliminary investigation points to the direct role of the Israeli regime and the green light from the Joe Biden administration in Washington.
Israeli regime desperate in face of resistance fighters: Qalibaf
Addressing the ceremony, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said the Israeli regime is desperate in the face of resistance fighters.
He added that the Tel Aviv regime’s crimes are rooted in its inability to counter the resistance forces.
The top Iranian parliamentarian emphasized that Israel will commit a “strategic mistake” if it thinks that targeting the resistance front will have an impact on the ongoing developments in the region.
Massive crowds of Iranian mourners accompany the bodies of assassinated Hamas's Political Bureau Chief Ismail Haniyeh and his bodyguard, identified as Wasim Abu Shaaban, to Azadi Square in Tehran on August 1, 2024. (Photo by Tasnim news agency)
Qalibaf said the era of "hit and run" for the apartheid Israel and its main ally US has come to end.
“It is our duty to react in the right place and at the right time,” he pointed out.
The Iranian speaker warned that the Israeli regime will pay a “heavy price” for its act of assassination.
He noted that the Israeli regime’s move to assassinate resistance commanders in Iran and Lebanon is the outcome of its “weakness” and said, “Such acts of terror will have no impact on the [continuation] of our path.”
Pointing to the Tel Aviv regime’s genocidal war against the people of Palestine in Gaza, particularly women and children, Qalibaf added, “We are witnessing the confrontation of humanity with crime there.”
On Wednesday, Ayatollah Khamenei warned the Israeli regime of a "harsh response" for the the assassination of Haniyeh, saying it is the Islamic Republic's duty to avenge the blood of the Palestinian resistance leader.
“The criminal and terrorist Zionist regime martyred our dear guest in our homeland and left us bereaved, but it also set the ground for a harsh punishment for itself,” the Leader said.
