Image Credits - The Washington Post
In the heart of Tehran, thousands gathered clutching posters of Haniyeh and waving Palestinian flags at Tehran University for the ceremony and procession, according to an Agence France-Presse (AFP) correspondent.
Haniyeh’s death was reported a day earlier by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, who announced that he and his bodyguard were killed in a strike on their accommodation in Tehran at 2 a.m. (10:30 p.m. GMT Wednesday). This incident followed Israel’s targeting and killing of top Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut, escalating fears of a wider regional conflict amid Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza.
Israel has not commented on the Tehran strike. However, the attack has drawn significant attention, with Iran’s state TV showing coffins draped in Palestinian flags during the ceremony attended by senior Iranian officials, including President Masoud Pezeshkian and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps chief Gen. Hossein Salami.
Haniyeh was visiting Tehran for Pezeshkian’s inauguration on Tuesday. During the funeral, senior Hamas figure Khalil al-Hayya vowed that Haniyeh’s stance, “We will not recognize Israel,” would remain an enduring slogan, pledging to continue pursuing Israel.
Iran’s conservative parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, declared Iran’s intention to avenge Haniyeh, stating it is their “duty to respond at the right time and in the right place,” crowds shouted slogans like “Death to Israel, Death to America.”
Khamenei asserted that seeking revenge for Haniyeh’s blood was a duty, as he was martyred in the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran. President Pezeshkian also promised repercussions for Israel’s “cowardly and terrorist act.”
The international community has called for de-escalation and a focus on securing a cease-fire in Gaza, which Israel had previously obstructed, according to a Hamas official. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres labelled the strikes in Tehran and Beirut a “dangerous escalation,” emphasizing the need for efforts leading to a cease-fire in Gaza and the release of hostages taken during Hamas’ October 7 incursion into southern Israel.
Qatar’s prime minister noted that Haniyeh’s killing jeopardized the mediation process for a cease-fire. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on all parties in the Middle East to halt escalatory actions, emphasizing the urgent need for a cease-fire in Gaza. The twin killings of Haniyeh and Shukr have heightened regional tensions.
As regional tensions increase, Iran has accused Israel of the attack, though Israel has not confirmed its involvement. Israel did, however, take responsibility for killing Shukr, connecting him to a recent rocket attack in the Golan Heights. The conflict is escalating, involving Iran-backed groups in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Yemen. Yemen’s Houthi rebels have announced three days of mourning for Haniyeh and offered condolences to the Palestinian people and Hamas.