Tehran- Minutes after Iran’s Supreme Leader promised a “harsh punishment” for Israel in retaliation for assassination of Palestinian leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on Wednesday, a symbolic red flag was hoisted atop a major mosque in the holy city of Qom.
The flag has been raised for the sixth time in Iran’s history.
Last time the flag appeared on the eve of Iran’s unprecedented missile and drone attack on Israel in April this year.
Iranian Leader Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Khamenei earlier had promised “harsh punishment” for Israel in retaliation for the killing of Hamas’s political leader.
“The criminal and terrorist Zionist regime martyred our dear guest in our house and made us bereaved,” Ayatollah Khamenei said in a statement on Wednesday, adding that “it also prepared the ground for a harsh punishment for itself.”
He said it was Iran’s duty to avenge the assassination of Haniyeh, who was in the Iranian capital for the inauguration of President Masoud Pezeshkian.
“We consider it our duty to avenge his blood in this bitter and difficult incident that happened in the territory of the Islamic Republic,” Khamenei said, as he offered his condolences to Haniyeh’s family and the Palestinian group.
Iran has announced three days of public mourning across the country for Haniyeh.
A funeral ceremony will be held in Iran on Thursday, after which Haniyeh’s body will be transferred to Doha, Qatar, Hamas said in a statement on its Telegram channel.
He will be buried in the Qatari capital on Friday, the group announced.
