Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution of Iran, has issued a statement in which he vowed revenge for the assassination of Hamas Political Chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.

The Leader said the Israeli move has paved the way for a “tough punishment” of Israel. “The criminal and terrorist Zionist regime has martyred our dear guest in our home and saddened us. But it created a background for its tough punishment,” Ayatollah Khamenei said in the statement. 

He said Haniyah never feared martyrdom and was prepared to embrace it throughout his life. “But in this bitter and hard incident, which took place in the territory of the Islamic Republic, we consider it our duty to avenge him,” Ayatollah Khamenei continued. 

The Leader also offered condolences over the martyrdom of Ismail Haniyah, and a member of his security detail. 

The prominent Palestinian leader was killed in a strike in Tehran in the early hours of Wednesday. Iranian media reported that the Hamas political bureau chief was killed as a result of projectile targeting his accommodation.