Tehran, Iran

Iran on Tuesday (Dec 24) slammed Israel for what it called the country's "brazen admission" of its role in the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and justifying its retaliatory missile strikes.

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Tehran labelled the assassination, which Israel recently acknowledged, a "heinous crime".

What did Iran say?

Iran's Ambassador to United Nations, Amir Saeid Iravani, described Israel's admission, delivered by Defence Minister Israel Katz, as an unprecedented "brazen" confession of responsibility.

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"This brazen admission marks the first time the Israeli regime has openly confessed to its responsibility for this heinous crime," said Iravani.

Also read | Israel probe finds Hamas 'murdered' hostages in fear of advancing ground troops

Haniyeh, who was considered pivotal in Hamas' ceasefire negotiations, was killed on July 31 in Tehran by an explosive device allegedly planted weeks earlier by Israeli operatives.

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Though Israel had been widely suspected, Katz's admission on Monday (Dec 23) marked the first official acknowledgement. Iran and Hamas had previously attributed Haniyeh's assassination to Israel.

Following the killing, Iran launched 200 missiles at Israel in October. The missiles, as per Tel Aviv, were largely intercepted by the nation's defences or by its allies' air forces.

Ambassador Iravani defended the strikes as a "legitimate and legal defensive response."

He alleged that the Haniyeh killing was a "heinous terrorist attack" and said that Katz's statement justified his country's retaliatory attack.

Watch | Israel-Hamas War: Why Israel Is Struggling To Counter The Houthis?

"It also reaffirms the legitimacy and legality of Iran's defensive response on 1 October 2024, as well as Iran's consistent position that the occupying and terrorist regime of Israel remains the most serious threat to regional and international peace and security," he stated.

Israel's high-profile killings

After Haniyeh, Israel allegedly carried out a series of high-profile killings, including that of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut (on September 27, 2024) and Yahya Sinwar in Gaza (on October 7, 2024).

Israel blames Sinwar for orchestrating the deadly Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which triggered the ongoing war. 

Also read | Israel vows to target Houthi leaders, says 'will act against them to remove threat'

The initial Hamas attack on Israel claimed 1,208 lives and resulted in 251 hostages being taken, 96 of which still remain in captivity in Gaza.

Israeli officials claim that 34 of these hostages are dead. The retaliatory Israeli campaign has resulted in over 45,000 deaths in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry, whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations.

(With inputs from agencies)

Disclaimer: WION takes the utmost care to accurately and responsibly report conflicts in West Asia involving Israel, Iran, Syria, Iraq, and non-state actors like the Islamic State, among others. In this context, claims and counterclaims are being made online and offline. WION cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, social media posts, photos, and videos.