Hamas' top leader killed in Iran; fears of all-out regional war

Beirut: Hamas' top political leader was killed Wednesday by a predawn airstrike in the Iranian capital, Iran and the militant group said, blaming Israel for a shock assassination that risked escalating into an all-out regional war. Iran's supreme leader vowed revenge against Israel.

Israel, which kept silent about the strike, had pledged to kill Ismail Haniyeh and other Hamas leaders over the group's October 7 attack on southern Israel that sparked the war in Gaza.

The assassination was potentially explosive amid the region's volatile, intertwined conflicts because of its target, its timing and the decision to carry it out in Tehran.

Most dangerous was the potential to push Iran and Israel into direct confrontation if Iran retaliates. In a statement on his official website, Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said revenge was “our duty” and that Israel had “prepared a harsh punishment for itself ” by killing “a dear guest in our home.”

During Haniyeh's last hours in Iran, a close ally of Hamas, he was smiling at the inauguration ceremony of the new President. Hours later, the strike hit a residence Haniyeh uses in Tehran, killing him, Hamas said. (AP)