TEHRAN – The Iranian foreign minister said on Tuesday night that Israel assassinated the Hamas leader in Tehran just several hours after the inauguration of President Masoud Pezeshkian, who came to power with the “slogan of interaction with the world, balanced relations with the world, restoring nuclear talks, cooperation and dialogue.”

Talking in a special televised program, Abbas Araghchi said the ulterior motive behind the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who had participation in the presidential inauguration, was to create “hurdles” for the new Iranian government to implement certain policies.

Pezeshkian took the oath of office in parliament on July 30. However, in the early morning of July 31 Israel assassinated the Hamas political bureau chief. The assassination came as a shock to Iran and the entire world.