Iranian Acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri told Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib that Tehran will respond "legally and decisively" to the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas' political bureau.

Earlier, Bagheri described Haniyeh's assassination in Tehran as a "strategic mistake" that would be "costly" for the Israeli Occupation. 

He stated that the Iranian response "will be costly, but it will serve the interests of security and stability, and therefore the interests of all countries in the region."

In a related statement, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said, "The Zionists understand only the language of force," noting that the massacre at Al-Tabe'een School in Gaza is further evidence of this. 

Qalibaf added that, according to the Supreme Leader's directives, "seeking revenge for Haniyeh’s martyrdom on our soil is a religious and national duty."