WATCH: Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh shared stage with Nitin Gadkari before being killed in Iran

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in a pre-dawn strike on Wednesday in Tehran, had shared the stage with India’s minister Nitin Gadkari and other world leaders less than 24 hours ago at the inauguration ceremony of Iran’s new president Masoud Pezeshkian.

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari shared a clip and pictures on X that showed him on the same stage with Haniyeh.  

📍𝑻𝒆𝒉𝒓𝒂𝒏, 𝑰𝒓𝒂𝒏

Swearing-in ceremony of Iran's President, H.E. @drpezeshkian. 🇮🇳🤝🇮🇷 @narendramodi @India_in_Iran @Iran_in_India pic.twitter.com/jDEAjAUS6O

— Nitin Gadkari (@nitin_gadkari) July 30, 2024

As per a statement released by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, Haniyeh was assassinated in “a treacherous Zionist raid on his residence in Tehran” while he was in the Iranian capital to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Pezeshkian on Tuesday.

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Hamas has held Israel responsible for the killing of their leader Haniyeh and warned that the “act will not go unpunished."

📍𝑻𝒆𝒉𝒓𝒂𝒏, 𝑰𝒓𝒂𝒏

Attended the swearing-in ceremony of Iran's President, H.E. Masoud Pezeshkian, in Tehran today. Heartfelt congratulations to H.E. @drpezeshkian on behalf of Hon'ble PM Shri @narendramodi Ji, the Indian Government and people of India.

We look forward to… pic.twitter.com/1oqnTE8aer

— Nitin Gadkari (@nitin_gadkari) July 30, 2024

The inauguration ceremony Pezeshkian was also attended by other Iran-backed regional groups including Islamic Jihad represented by Ziyad al-Nakhalah, Lebanon’s Hezbollah represented by Naim Qassem and Yemen’s Houthi rebels represented by Mohammed Abdulsalam.

The ceremony was also attended by senior officials of a host of other countries including Armenia, Tajikistan, Egypt, Sudan, Iraq, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan, Cuba and Brazil.

European Union envoy Enrique Mora was also present at the event where Pezeshkian was sworn-in as Iran’s ninth president after he defeated hardliner Saeed Jalili in a run-off election.

The presidential election in Iran was necessitated following the death of hardline President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash in May.

Meanwhile, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with who Haniyeh had held a face-to-face meeting hours before he was killed, has also vowed revenge against Israel.

There was no immediate comment from Israel, which has pledged to kill Haniyeh and other Hamas leaders over the group’s October 7 attack on southern Israel in which the Palestinian militant group killed 1,200 people and took some 250 others hostage.

Who was Ismail Haniyeh?

Haniyeh was the leader of Palestinian terrorist group Hamas. He was appointed to the top post of Hamas in 2017.

Haniyeh had served as the spokesperson for the group’s global diplomacy during the ongoing war in Gaza.  

According to Hamas, on April 10, an Israeli air strike targeted the car carrying three of Haniyeh’s sons - Hazem, Amir, and Mohammad - resulting in their deaths, along with four of Haniyeh’s grandchildren, including three girls and a boy.  

With inputs from agencies