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[Text/Guocha.net Liu Chenghui] Hamas Politburo leader Haniyeh was killed in an attack in Tehran. Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei vowed on July 31 local time that as the host of Haniyeh, Iran has the responsibility to "avenge" Haniyeh's death and that "the Zionist regime should be severely punished." Iran's new President Pezerhicyan and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard also issued harsh statements on the incident.

Although Hamas, Iran and other parties have accused Israel of being behind the attack, Israel has not yet made an official response.

According to Bloomberg, Khamenei said in a statement read out on Iranian state television that the "brutal and terrorist Zionist regime killed our dear guests in our home and left us without loved ones" and should be "severely punished" and that Iran has a responsibility to "avenge" Haniyeh's death.

Iran's permanent mission to the United Nations said on the X platform that Iran's retaliation will be carried out in the form of "special operations." The report believes that this indicates that Iran will only make a limited response. In past retaliatory actions, Iran tended to launch missile attacks on Israel or US military bases.

Newly-appointed Iranian President Pezhantiyan also condemned the attack on Haniya, vowing to defend the territorial integrity, honor and dignity of the Islamic Republic and make "the terrorist occupiers regret their cowardly actions."

Iran's Revolutionary Guards, which threatened to make Israel feel "harsh and painful responses," said in a statement that Haniyeh's assassination showed that "the Zionist criminals, murderers and terrorist gangs disregard international rules and regulations and will not be ashamed to take any criminal actions to cover up their shameful failure in the nine-month war in Gaza."

On July 31, local time, Haniyeh was killed in an Israeli attack in Tehran after attending the inauguration ceremony of the new Iranian president. Hamas stated that "Hania was killed in an airstrike by Zionists on his residence in Tehran after attending the inauguration ceremony of the new Iranian president."

Hamas political bureau member Marzouk said it was a "cowardly act" that "will never go away." Another senior Hamas official, Zuhri, told Reuters that "Israel's assassination of Haniyeh is a major escalation aimed at undermining Hamas and the determination of our people to achieve false goals."

Israel has not yet responded or issued a statement. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Russian Foreign Ministry called the attack on Haniyeh a "completely unacceptable political murder." Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Bogdanov said the death of the Hamas leader "will lead to a further escalation of tensions."

But U.S. Defense Secretary Austin said he does not believe a wider conflict in the Middle East is inevitable. "I don't think war is inevitable. I stick to that. I think there is always room and opportunity for diplomacy," he told the media on the last day of his visit to the Philippines. He also said the United States would help protect Israel if it was attacked.

Austin did not comment on reports that Haniyeh had been killed, saying only that he did not have "any additional information" on the matter.

Nader Hashemi, a professor of Middle East studies at Georgetown University in the United States, told the BBC that the killing of key Hamas leader Haniyeh has brought the region closer to all-out war than ever before.

“This is a major escalation,” he said. “I think it will also affect events in Lebanon because just a few hours ago Israel tried to assassinate a senior Hezbollah leader in south Beirut and at this point Iran and Hezbollah are not seen as interested in escalating.”

Hashemi added that Haniyeh's assassination upended those predictions and that "Iran now has every incentive to try to escalate this conflict."

BBC Middle East correspondent Hugo Bachega also believes that Haniyeh's killing while attending the inauguration of Iran's new president in Tehran is another major and dangerous development that will once again raise concerns about escalating violence throughout the Middle East.

This article is an exclusive article of Observer.com and may not be reproduced without authorization.