Iran claims Israel's admission of assassinating former Hamas leader Haniyeh justifies its October missile attack, escalating diplomatic tensions after Katz's recent statements.

Since launching its retaliatory war in Gaza, Israel claims to have eliminated the leaders of militant groups including, Sinwar, the mastermind of the 7 October attack on Israel, and Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an airstrike on a building complex in Beirut.

Hassan Nasrallah meanwhile was the leader of the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah - he was assassinated in Beirut in September as Israel dramatically escalated its military campaign against Hezbollah, with which it had been trading near daily cross-border fire since the day after the 7 October attacks.

Gaza Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz acknowledged on Monday that Israel assassinated the former Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July this year, threatening to similarly eradicate the top leaders of Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Iran on Tuesday denounced what it termed Israel's "brazen admission" of having killed former Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran earlier this year, accusing the country of having carried out a "heinous crime" and defending its missile-strike response.

Former Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in an explosion in a high-security guesthouse in Iran’s capital Tehran in July

In the months that followed, Israel directly attacked Iran, assassinated Nasrallah and invaded southern Lebanon. In November it agreed to a US-backed ceasefire in Lebanon that enshrined its right to unilaterally enforce any alleged violations by Hezbollah.

Ismail Haniyeh led Gaza ceasefire talks when an explosive device planted by Israeli operatives weeks earlier killed him.

Tehran's UN envoy says Jerusalem's 'audacious and shameless confession' of 'heinous' assassination of terror chief affirms legitimacy of its barrage on the country The post After Israel confirms killing Haniyeh,

Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed that Israel is responsible for the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. This marks the first public admission of this attack. Defense Minister Israel Katz publicly admitted for the first time that Israel is responsible for the death of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh,