Tehran's UN envoy says Jerusalem's 'audacious and shameless confession' of 'heinous' assassination of terror chief affirms legitimacy of its barrage on the country The post After Israel confirms killing Haniyeh,

Iran on Tuesday denounced what it termed Israel's "brazen admission" of having killed former Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran earlier this year, accusing the country of having carried out a "heinous crime" and defending its missile-strike response.

Since launching its retaliatory war in Gaza, Israel claims to have eliminated the leaders of militant groups including, Sinwar, the mastermind of the 7 October attack on Israel, and Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an airstrike on a building complex in Beirut.

Hassan Nasrallah meanwhile was the leader of the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah - he was assassinated in Beirut in September as Israel dramatically escalated its military campaign against Hezbollah, with which it had been trading near daily cross-border fire since the day after the 7 October attacks.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has confirmed, for the first time, that Israel assassinated Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.

Former Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in an explosion in a high-security guesthouse in Iran’s capital Tehran in July

Israel's defence minister has admitted that Israel killed Hamas's political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July. Israel has also vowed to target the heads of the Iran-backed Houthi movement.

In the months that followed, Israel directly attacked Iran, assassinated Nasrallah and invaded southern Lebanon. In November it agreed to a US-backed ceasefire in Lebanon that enshrined its right to unilaterally enforce any alleged violations by Hezbollah.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz admitted on Monday (December 23) for the first time publicly to Israel's killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran in July, further risking tensions between Tehran and its arch-enemy Israel in a region shaken by Israel's war in Gaza and the conflict in Lebanon.