Iran is set to host an official funeral for Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas's political bureau, who was assassinated in Tehran on Wednesday. 

The ceremony, scheduled for Thursday, will be led by Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. 

Following the funeral in Tehran, Haniyeh’s body will be transported to Qatar for burial.

The assassination of Haniyeh, 61, along with the killing of Hezbollah leader Fuad Shukr in Beirut on Tuesday, heightened concerns about a potential escalation of aggression in the Middle East. 

In response to Haniyeh’s assassination, Khamenei vowed to impose "the harshest punishment" on “Israel”. 

“We consider it our duty to avenge the blood of Haniyeh that was spilled on the soil of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Khamenei declared.

Furthermore, Hamas announced that a formal and public farewell ceremony would be held for Haniyeh in Tehran before his body was moved to Doha. 

In Qatar’s capital, a funeral prayer will be conducted at the Imam Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab Mosque following Friday prayers, with Haniyeh set to be buried in Lusail.

The funeral in Doha is expected to attract significant public and factional participation, including Arab and Islamic leaders. 

Khalil Al-Hayya, a senior Hamas official, described Haniyeh’s assassination as an attempt by “Israel” to divert attention from its own failures. 

Hayya emphasized that Hamas will continue its resistance efforts, asserting that Haniyeh’s death strengthens the movement’s resolve to confront the occupation.