Shillong, July 31: Top Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed after his residence was targeted in Tehran at 2 am on Wednesday, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said in a statement, Reuters reported. Hamas, a Palestinian outfit engaged in a war with Israel in Gaza, said an “Israeli” raid killed Ismail Haniyeh and one of his bodyguards in his residence in Tehran.

In a statement, Hamas said Haniyeh was killed in “a treacherous Zionist raid on his residence in Tehran”.

In the wake of the Hamas leader’s killing, an emergency meeting of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council is currently underway at Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s residence. Such a meeting only occurs during extraordinary circumstances, US media reported, citing two Iranian officials.

On Tuesday, Haniyeh, who led Hamas’s political operations from exile in Qatar, attended the inauguration ceremony of Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian. He also met Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Israel said its military was “fully prepared for any scenario”, The New York Times reported. “We prefer to resolve hostilities without a wider war,” said Daniel Hagari, the Israeli military spokesperson.

Iran has declared three days of mourning while Khamenei, in a statement, said seeking retribution for the killing of Haniyeh was “Tehran’s duty”. “We consider his revenge as our duty,” Iran’s Supreme Leader said while underscoring that Israel had “prepared a harsh punishment for itself” by killing “a dear guest in our home”.

Amid the Israel-Gaza war, Haniyeh acted as a negotiator in the ceasefire talks. Hamas claimed in April that Israeli airstrikes killed three of Haniyeh’s sons and four of his grandchildren.

The military wing of Hamas is led by Yahya Sinwar, believed to be the mastermind of the October 7 attack on Israel that ignited the war in Gaza.

The development comes a day after the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) claimed to have killed Fuad Shukr, a top commander of Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Israel had claimed Fuad Shukr was behind a drone strike that killed 12 children in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

US not involved in Hamas leader’s killing

Washing its hands of the episode, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said America was not involved or had any input in the assassination of Haniyeh.

“This is something we were not aware of or involved in. It’s very hard to speculate,” Blinken told Channel News Asia.

While Pakistan and China strongly condemned the targeted killing of Haniyeh, Germany said the “logic of reprisals” in the Middle East was the “wrong path”.

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