BEIRUT. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, along with representatives of Palestinian militias he supports, gathered Thursday to pray over the coffins of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and his bodyguard, who were killed in an assassination widely attributed to Israel. The killing has heightened concerns of a potential regional war.
At Tehran University, Khamenei prayed over Haniyeh’s coffin while Iran’s newly inaugurated President Masoud Pezeshkian stood beside him. State television broadcast images of the coffins being transported in a truck through Tehran’s streets toward Azadi Square, where mourners threw flowers in tribute.
Following the funeral services in Tehran, Haniyeh’s remains are scheduled to be flown to Qatar for burial on Friday.
Haniyeh was in Tehran to attend Pezeshkian’s inauguration. Photos from the Associated Press captured Haniyeh seated with leaders from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah, and Iranian media depicted him and Pezeshkian embracing. Haniyeh had previously met with Khamenei.
Israel had vowed to target Haniyeh and other Hamas leaders in retaliation for the group’s October 7 attack on southern Israel, which ignited the ongoing conflict in Gaza. The assassination followed closely on the heels of an Israeli strike against a senior Hezbollah commander in Beirut.
Iran supports Hamas, Hezbollah, and other Palestinian militant groups in their conflict with Israel.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged all parties in the Middle East to avoid actions that could escalate the conflict further. Speaking in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, Blinken emphasized the need for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas to alleviate the ongoing violence and suffering. He did not specify Israel, Iran, or Hamas in his remarks.
Earlier this year, tensions between Israel and Iran nearly escalated into full-blown war following Israeli attacks on Iran’s embassy in Damascus and Iranian retaliatory strikes. International efforts managed to de-escalate the situation before it spiraled further.
In his inauguration speech, President Pezeshkian voiced strong support for Palestinians, declaring, “Iran demands a world where no Palestinian child’s dreams are buried under the rubble of their home. We are seeking a world where the proud people of Palestine are freed from occupation, oppression, imprisonment, and genocide.”
Si Venus L Peñaflor ay naging editor-in-chief ng Newsworld, isang lokal na pahayagan ng Laguna. Publisher din siya ng Daystar Gazette at Tutubi News Magazine. Siya ay isa ring pintor at doll face designer ng Ninay Dolls, ang unang Manikang Pilipino. Kasali siya sa DesignCrowd sa rank na #305 sa 640,000 graphic designers sa buong daigdig. Kasama din siya sa unang Local TV Broadcast sa Laguna na Beyond Manila. Aktibong kasapi siya ng San Pablo Jaycees Senate bilang isang JCI Senator.
