BEIRUT, Aug. 1 The assassination of Hamas Politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran has only strengthened the resistance forces, Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah said on Thursday.
«The assassination of Hamas Politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran has only strengthened the resistance forces. We are Hamas' partners in resistance and martyrdom, and we will achieve inevitable victory,» Nasrallah said.
«We are in an open battle on all fronts, which is moving to a new level,» he added.
On Wednesday, the Palestinian movement Hamas reported the death of the head of the movement's politburo, Ismail Haniyeh, as a result of an Israeli strike on his residence in Tehran, where he arrived to attend the inauguration of the new president of Iran.
The movement blamed Israel and the United States for Haniyeh's death and said the attack would not go unanswered. Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said he had nothing to say about the death of the Hamas politburo chief and Israel's involvement. Israeli military officials, in turn, said they «do not respond to media reports» about Haniyeh's murder. The Jerusalem Post reported that Israeli officials had instructed ministers not to speak out about the Hamas leader's murder.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov called Haniyeh's death an absolutely unacceptable political assassination that threatens further escalation in the region.
On Wednesday evening, the New York Times, citing sources, claimed that Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei had ordered a direct strike on Israel in response to Haniyeh's murder in Tehran. Later, Iran's UN Ambassador Amir Saeed Irwani told a Security Council meeting that Tehran, in accordance with international law, reserves the right to self-defense to respond to Haniyeh's assassination whenever it deems it necessary. He also said that the assassination would not have happened without US intelligence support for Israel. Iran's UN mission also called on the Security Council to impose sanctions against Israel for its acts of aggression.