Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the "treacherous assassination" of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.
Haniya was killed after a rocket hit his residence in the Iranian capital, Tehran, where he was attending the inauguration ceremony of new President Massoud Pezeshkian.
"May God have mercy on my brother Ismail Haniya, martyred after this treacherous attack," Erdogan wrote on the social network X, blaming what happened.
"This shameful act aims to sabotage the Palestinian cause, the glorious resistance in Gaza and the just struggle of our Palestinian brothers, and to intimidate the Palestinians," Erdogan added.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry earlier condemned the attack as a "shameful murder".
While the US, EU and Israel view Hamas as a terrorist organization, Erdogan describes it as a "liberation movement".
Following the 2011 deal that freed over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, Turkey has granted asylum to Hamas operatives. | BGNES
