Israel committed costly ‘strategic mistake’: Iran

Israel made a costly "strategic mistake" by assassinating Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last week, Iran's interim foreign minister has said.

"The act that the Zionists carried out in Tehran was a strategic mistake because it will cost them gravely," said Ali Bagheri Kani, speaking one day after attending an extraordinary session of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in the Saudi city of Jeddah.

Haniyeh, the chief of Hamas political bureau, and one of his bodyguards were assassinated in the Iranian capital last week. Following the assassination, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) stated that Haniyeh was martyred by a "short-range projectile" launched from outside his residence in Tehran.

Iranian political and military leadership, including the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian, have vowed to avenge Haniyeh's blood.

Although the Israeli regime has not commented on the assassination, Iran has pledged retaliation.

"The Zionists are in no position to start a war against the Islamic Republic of Iran," Bagheri Kani stated, adding, "They neither have the capacity nor the strength."
The meeting of foreign ministers from the 57-member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Wednesday resulted in a declaration holding Israel "fully responsible" for the "heinous" killing of Ismail Haniyeh, a key figure in efforts to broker peace in the Gaza Strip.

Despite calls for restraint from Washington, Iran's interim foreign minister told AFP that OIC members expressed support for Tehran’s right to retaliate. "Those we have spoken to yesterday, whether in phone calls or during in-person meetings, all of them stressed the Islamic Republic of Iran's right to respond to this terrorist crime," he noted.

Bagheri Kani also stated, "Western countries, who claim they have asked Iran to restrict its response, need to answer questions and are not in the position to advise the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

The ongoing Israeli military campaign in Gaza has resulted in at least 39,699 Palestinians killed, the majority of whom are women and children.