Thousands gather in Tehran to bid farewell to Martyr Ismail Haniyeh

The farewell ceremony for Martyr Ismail Haniyeh commenced this morning at the University of Tehran. Mourners, holding portraits of Haniyeh, gathered in and around the university, where Ayatollah Khamenei prayed over the coffin of Haniyeh and one of his bodyguards.

The office of the Supreme Leader had previously announced that the funeral prayer would take place at the university premises before mourners march toward Azadi Square. Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran early Wednesday while in the Iranian capital to attend the inauguration of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

The Islamic Republic of Iran has declared three days of public mourning following the assassination. In a message after Haniyeh's martyrdom, the Supreme Leader stated: "The criminal and terrorist Zionist regime prepared the ground for a harsh punishment for itself with this act, and we consider it our duty to avenge his blood as he was martyred in the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran."

The assassination and subsequent events have intensified tensions in the region, with Iran vowing retaliation for the killing of the Hamas leader on its soil. (ILKHA)