Revenge for Haniyeh Assassination; A New Regional War?

Hiba Morad

In a major development that might take the region to a new dangerous phase, Iran’s capital woke up to the news of the assassination of Hamas Chief Ismail Haniyeh on Wednesday. Haniyeh and one of his bodyguards were killed in an “Israeli” strike while in their residence in Tehran.

The Palestinian resistance leader was in Tehran to attend the inauguration ceremony of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

Members of Tehran University council together with other professors and students condemned the assassination of the Palestinian resistance group leader.

“Israel” must fear for itself

Touching on the assassination of “the charismatic leader”, as Tehran University professor and political analyst Zohre Kharazmi described him, she told al-Ahed News that the assassination is perceived in Iran by all the parties despite the political differences among them as a heinous crime that should be condemned.

“Even though the killing of Haniyeh is painful to his family members, however, his son said that his father’s assassination is part of the battle and that he is no better than more than 16 thousand Palestinian children who were killed by the “Israeli” enemy since the beginning of the war on Gaza,” she said.

“If his son’s statement reflects anything, it shows the Palestinians’ commitment to the resistance, its goals and purposes, and it is not any sign of break or hopelessness,” the political analyst told al-Ahed news.

Dr. Kharazmi underlined the impact of his assassination on the resistance front, saying “On the other hand, I think that all the resistance forces in the region, including Lebanon’s Hezbollah, the Yemeni resistance forces, those supporters and forces of resistance in Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan who are engaged in the resistance front have gained energy and a push to continue their battle from the crime today. They all have given statements on how this assassination has made the resistance front more united.

The political analyst also noted that Iran sees this act of terror as another reflection of the inevitability that the Zionist entity does not respect international law or the sovereignty of other countries. “For such a crime to take place on the soil of Iran, ‘Israel’ has to fear for itself because everyone is expecting a harsh response to this criminal act,” she said.

Dr. Kharazmi’s statement comes in line with what Iran Leader of the Islamic Revolution His Eminence Imam Sayyed Ali Khamenei said earlier “The criminal and terrorist Zionist entity has martyred our dear guest in our home and saddened us. But it created a background for its tough punishment.”

“The destiny of the peoples of this region; state-actors, non-state actors and people is interwoven together; we cannot stand aside and remain silent,” she pointed out, concluding that this could take us to a regional war but we do not fear it.

Desperate Zionist gang

On the same note, Tehran University of medical sciences Professor and activist Dr. Ehsan Sharif told al-Ahed News “These are the last sort of efforts that the Zionist ‘gang’ is carrying out to stay alive.”

He refused to call it the Zionist state, implying to the extremist “gang” ruling the illegal cabinet of the ‘Israeli’ Zionist entity.

“If this shows anything, it shows that the ‘Israelis’ are so desperate and that the Zionist entity is coming to an end. I think not only Iran will be retaliating to this act of terror, but all the factions of the resistance front simultaneously,” he added.  

Blunt act crossing all red lines

For his part, Shahid Beheshti University, Dr. Abbas Saidi, told al-Ahed “I believe that the indifference and even support of the so-called western “civilized” nations toward ‘Israeli’ genocides has made it so blunt to ignore the very international boundaries of other nations and assassinate officially invited foreign guests of that country.”

“This is a blunt act crossing of all red lines!” he assured.

“I don't personally know how Iran will respond but surely will be a hard response as officials have stated,” he added.  

Dr, Saidi told al-Ahed News “This cowardly behavior of ‘Israel’ will exacerbate the volatile political, cultural, economic, and security fields of the region. The world should not allow this maniac (Netanyahu) who has taken so many lives until now only for him and his clandestine assassins to stay in power a bit longer.”

No panic, more steadfastness

Meanwhile, Gazan journalist and activist, Saed Hassouna, who was attending the protests told al-Ahed News from Tehran “As Palestinian people, we are saddened to hear that our leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated. However, this is the path of martyrdom in which we believe and this is why we do not panic.”  

He assured that this path is tough, but it requires patience and steadfastness and it is the path of justice against tyranny.

“Martyr Haniyeh has always been a great leader and father to all the Palestinian people, and a good example of what it means to devote oneself for the sake of the cause,” he said.

“There is no doubt that we will soon see revenge on the Zionist crime, which targeted our national security and the essence of the resistance front, especially since Haniyeh was an important national figure and a major figure in the Palestinian Hamas resistance movement,” he reiterated.  

As for the revenge, he said it will for sure be very harsh. “I expect that not only Iran, which was hosting the Hamas chief would respond to this crime but also the entire resistance front. The strategic and political impact of the revenge in the long run will be seen among the resistance fighters as more steadfastness and resilience and will spread more fear among the ‘Israelis’ who will only grow weaker.”