Tel Aviv: The political head of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, has been assassinated in Tehran, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said in a statement on Wednesday. Haniyeh was killed alongside one of his bodyguards at his residence in the Iranian capital while he was in the town to attend Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian's swearing-in ceremony on Tuesday.

There are no further details on the killing from the IRGC. As per several television analysts in Iran, the blame has been put on Israel.

Reacting to the news, Israel War Room posted a video on X showing Haniyeh celebrating the October 7 attack on Israeli citizens. "This was Hamas chief Haniyeh's reaction to the Hamas massacre on October 7. He's not celebrating anymore," it captioned the video. Haniyeh was the face of Hamas and was active in several peace negotiations.

(IANS)