Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has vowed that the Islamic Republic will defend its territorial “integrity, dignity, honor, and pride,” promising to make the "terrorist occupiers" regret their actions.
His statement follows the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran early Wednesday.
"Yesterday, I raised his victorious hand, and today I have to carry him on my shoulders for his funeral," Pezeshkian added.
Mohammad Ghaedi, an international relations expert, suggested that the Islamic Republic is likely to mobilize its resistance forces and bring them onto the streets of Tehran in response to the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh.
Ghaedi told Iran International, "Haniyeh, formerly the Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority, is the highest-ranking Palestinian official ever to be assassinated, posing a significant challenge to Tehran's prestige."
According to Ghaedi, the Islamic Republic may attempt to bring the issue to the United Nations Security Council and demonstrate its power regionally and domestically by mobilizing its forces and showcasing them in public displays.
The spokesperson for the National Security Committee of Islamic Republic’s parliament announced that it will hold a meeting regarding the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
Ebrahim Rezaei, the spokesperson for the committee, expressed his condolences over the death of Ismail Haniyeh in an interview with Tasnim News Agency. He stated, "The Zionist regime, in a cowardly and desperate act, assassinated Ismail Haniyeh, the prominent leader of Palestinian resistance, which is a sign of the regime's desperation and inability."
He added that the National Security Committee will hold a meeting to examine this development with the presence of all relevant agencies, and the results will be made public.
Richard Goldberg, a senior advisor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, tweeted “The Israeli Air Force is about to demonstrate its range tonight” hours before Haniyeh’s assassination.
The Taliban government in Afghanistan expressed condolences over the death of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, saying, "The martyrdom of Ismail Haniyeh leaves a great sorrow for the Ummah, but it also heralds the demise of the usurping Zionists."
The statement extended sympathies to his family and the entire Islamic community.

Al-Mayadeen, a news outlet affiliated with the Hezbollah, said the Hamas leader was assassinated with a "missile fired from abroad," citing an unnamed Iranian official.
The official called it an act of "aggression against Iran" which "necessitates a decisive response."
Iran's Nournews says "further investigations are underway to determine the details of this terrorist operation like the location from which the projectile was launched."
The website, close to Iran's Supreme Council of National Security, added that "crossing Iran's redlines has always been costly for the enemy"






