Speaker of Iran’s Parliament Vows Israel Will Pay ‘Heavy Price’ for Haniyeh Killing

Ayatollah Khamenei led prayers for Haniyeh during the Hamas official's funeral in Tehran

On Thursday, a funeral was held in Tehran for Hamas’s political chief, Ismail Haniyeh, and Iranian officials vowed they would strike back at Israel for the assassination of the Palestinian official on Iranian soil.

Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s parliament, spoke at the funeral and said Israel would pay a “heavy price” for killing Haniyeh and said the era of Israel and its main ally, the US, conducting “hit and run” attacks is over. “It is our duty to react in the right place and at the right time,” he said.

Haniyeh and his bodyguard were killed Tuesday night while sleeping in an official guest house in Tehran, reportedly by an explosive that was planted by Israeli intelligence two months earlier. He was in Iran for the inauguration of President Masoud Pezeshkian.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei quickly vowed Iran would take “revenge” for the assassination and, according to The New York Times, has ordered a direct attack on Israel in response. Khamenei led a large crowd of mourners in prayers during the funeral.

A truck is carrying the coffins containing the bodies of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and his bodyguard Abu Shaaban during a funeral ceremony in Tehran, Iran, on August 1, 2024 (Photo by Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto)

Back in April, Iran launched its first-ever direct attack on Israel in response to the Israeli bombing of the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria, which killed a senior Iranian general. Iran warned regional countries 72 hours earlier, and the US and some of its allies intercepted most of the Iranian missiles and drones.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has pledged that the US would defend Israel again, but the attack could be much bigger. There’s a chance it could be coordinated with Hezbollah, which is warning its war with Israel is in a “new phase” after an Israeli airstrike killed one of its commanders in Beirut.

Author: Dave DeCamp

Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave.