Iran is holding an emergency meeting of its Supreme National Security Council at the residence of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to a report by the New York Times, which cites two Iranian officials.
The report highlights that such a meeting occurs only under “extraordinary circumstances.”
Esmail Ghaani, the commander of the Quds Force, which oversees Iran’s proxy groups, is also in attendance, the report states.
Iran state TV has reportedly said that the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh could delay the Gaza ceasefire-hostage deal by several months and provoke retaliation from Iran-backed groups in the region.
The report notes that statements from Iran state TV typically reflect the views of Khamenei and the government.
Earlier, Palestinian group Hamas has released a statement following the assassination of its political chief, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran.
“In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. [And do not think of those who are killed in the way of God as dead. Rather, they are alive with their Lord, receiving provision.]
The Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas mourns the loss of our great Palestinian people, the Arab and Islamic nation, and all the free people of the world: brother, leader, martyr, and Mujahid Ismail Haniyeh.
Our leader was killed in a treacherous Zionist raid on his residence in Tehran after attending the inauguration of the new Iranian president.
To God we belong, and to Him we shall return. Our struggle continues, with victory or martyrdom as our ultimate goal.”
Meanwhile, Hamas has described the assassination of senior leader Ismail Haniyeh as a “grave escalation.”
Al-Aqsa TV reported that senior Hamas official Moussa Abu Marzouk called the assassination a “cowardly act that will not go unpunished.”
Both Hamas and Iran’s Revolutionary Guard confirmed Haniyeh’s death during his visit to Iran, with Hamas stating that Israel targeted his residence in Tehran.
Earlier, Ismail Haniyeh, the chief of Palestinian resistance group Hamas, has been killed in Iran, according to a statement from Hamas and Iranian officials.
Hamas said its leader was killed early on Wednesday following an Israeli missile attack targeting his residence in Tehran.
In a statement, the group mourned the death of Haniyeh, 62, who it said was killed in “a treacherous Zionist raid on his residence in Tehran”.
Haniyeh, a prominent figure in the Palestinian political and resistance group, has been a key public figure before and during Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.
The Iranian government has announced an investigation into the killing, with results expected to be released soon.
“The residence of Ismail Haniyeh, head of the political office of Hamas Islamic Resistance, was hit in Tehran, and as a result of this incident, him and one of his bodyguards were martyred,” said a statement by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’s Sepah news website.
