Funeral for Ismail Haniyeh begins in Tehran
Funeral services for Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh have begun at the University of Tehran, Iran, with an address from Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.
“Martyr Ismail Haniyeh was the voice of the Palestinian people all over the world,” Ghalibaf said. “He was not only a leader. He was the wise man.”
Ghalibaf added that Haniyeh’s assassination, in Tehran, on Wednesday, would not go unanswered. “Our reply will be there. At the right time and the right place. It is difficult for us to have our guest being targeted and assassinated on our soil,” he said.
The procession is set to head towards Azadi (Freedom) Square in Tehran
‘The nation today is carrying his coffin’: Hamas official addresses Haniyeh funeral
Khalil al-Hayya, the deputy head of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, has addressed the funeral service of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
“The nation today is carrying his coffin, and the nation today is raising the flag of jihad [struggle] and resistance towards the goal of liberating Palestine and Jerusalem,” al-Hayya said.
“With the faith of our country and the Palestinian soul, we are sure that the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh will bring anger towards this Zionist entity from the entire people of the world.”
Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Khamenei leads funeral prayers for assassinated Hamas official Ismail Haniyeh pic.twitter.com/Qfy4EvUdBT
— Press TV 🔻 (@PressTV) August 1, 2024
Haniyeh given ‘same treatment’ in funeral as late Iranian president
The fact that Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Iran has made his death all the more painful for the host nation and will likely push it to deliver a fiercer response, said Foad Izadi, an associate professor of world studies at Tehran University.
“When you have a high-ranking official assassinated in the capital city, this is a shock,” Izadi told Al Jazeera.
To honour Haniyeh’s life, Iran is giving him “the same treatment as Ebrahim Raisi”, the late Iranian president who died in a plane crash in May. “This is something for the history books,” he said.
