TEHRAN, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) -- Iran's envoy to the United Nations (UN) said on Tuesday that Israel's "clear confession" to assassinating Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on Iranian soil justifies Tehran's military response against Israel on Oct. 1.
Amir Saeid Iravani, Iran's permanent representative to the UN, made the remarks in a letter addressed to the UN Security Council while reacting to the confession on Monday by Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, in which he admitted for the first time that Israel had assassinated Haniyeh in Tehran, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.
Haniyeh was killed on July 31 along with his bodyguard when their residence in Tehran was attacked. Both Hamas and Iran accused Israel of carrying out the assassination.
On Oct. 1, Iran launched dozens of ballistic missiles at Israel, describing the attack as a retaliation for the assassinations of key resistance figures, including Haniyeh, Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, and senior Iranian commander Abbas Nilforoushan. ■
