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00:00Welcome to the programme. The Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has vowed
00:07revenge for the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. Hamas said
00:13Haniyeh was killed in an Israeli airstrike early this morning, hours after he attended
00:18the inauguration of Iran's new president. The United States has said it was not aware
00:25nor involved in the assassination. Our first report by Delano de Souza.
00:32Amidst the rubble in Gaza sits a portrait of Ismail Haniyeh. Residents in the enclave
00:39plunged into grief after the Hamas chief's killing was announced.
00:44Israel crossed red lines not only today but from 1948. Every month and every day there
00:50have been assassinations. The unjust world supports the state of Israel. This news is
00:56scary. We feel that he was like a father to us. It was like he raised us. We owe him greatly.
01:03While residents in Gaza digest the latest killing, over in the West Bank, a general
01:09strike was declared. With shops shuttered, worried residents contemplate what comes next.
01:16The news was shocking for all Palestinian people at home and abroad. It was a cowardly
01:21assassination and another crime to add to the occupation's record.
01:26There will be a response to the assassination. I expect there to be a strong response and
01:31also one coming from Lebanon. News of Ismail Haniyeh's targeting in Iran
01:36has also been reverberating across Israel. And the reaction out on the streets is mixed.
01:43We don't want to be too excited because we're still in a very intense war on two borders.
01:50And I think we're smart enough to know that this could lead to something a lot bigger.
01:56It bothers me that for nine months now there's no certainty and no sense of stability.
02:01Ismail Haniyeh's killing is just the latest development in the war between Israel and
02:05Hamas, which will soon enter its 10th month. His assassination is likely to throw the ceasefire
02:12talks up in the air as Israeli hostages remain in Gaza.
02:17Well, I'm pleased now to welcome to the programme Tara Kangaloo, who's a journalist and the
02:24author of The Heartbeat of Iran. Good to talk to you today. Thanks for making the time.
02:31Thank you, Nadia. Give us your analysis, first of all, on the
02:35timing and the location of this strike, the killing of Haniyeh in the heart of the Iranian
02:41capital. Absolutely. As your viewers saw in your report,
02:47this came a day after the inauguration of the newly elected Iranian President Massoud
02:54Khazeshgian, who really in his agenda wanted to start by focusing on domestic issues. But
03:02of course, with what happened, the focus will be shifted to foreign affairs. And this was
03:08in the heart of Iran, in the heart of the capital, in a compound dedicated to veterans.
03:15And it was done with such precision that it most certainly was calculated to the last
03:23millimeter. And it was a shock. It's interesting, because I was actually moments ago speaking
03:29with a journalist in Iran in one of the dailies, and she told me that, Tara, there's a strange
03:35sense of calm. People are surprised, but there's not a sense of panic that she told
03:42me makes her and others in Iran wonder if this was previously coordinated or there has
03:50been some form of arrangement. But again, that is just speculation. What we are hearing
03:56from Iranian officials is that there will be a harsh avenge. And that also comes from
04:02an Iranian Supreme Leader who, based on what we know, will attend Ismail Haniyeh's funeral
04:10tomorrow and will pray over his body. So, the Iranian government officials have vowed
04:16a strong and harsh revenge on Israel.
04:21As you say, Ali Khamenei warning Israel, in effect, to brace now for what is to come.
04:27What is your sense as to what form an Iranian response might now take?
04:33Now, let's take a step back. Since the start of the war, there have been many moments where
04:41we have been standing by for what we thought will be a full-blown war. An example of that
04:48is what we saw in April after the Israeli attack on the Iranian consulate in Syria and
04:56the suburbs of Damascus, which led to the Iranian government and essentially Iranian regime,
05:03along with its proxies, firing over hundreds of missiles into Israel. Then we learned that,
05:09okay, that was communicated and coordinated and there were no civilian casualties in Israel.
05:16Now, what we're hearing, what I'm hearing and what many project is that this retaliation would
05:21be harsher. But again, Iran and the Iranian government, as well as Hezbollah, have said
05:27since in the last 10 months that they don't want an all-out war. And based on what we've seen and
05:32what we're hearing is that it is the Israeli prime minister, Netanyahu, who really will benefit from
05:39the longevity of this regional conflict, the rather longevity of the war in Gaza and its
05:47escalation into a regional conflict. So, everyone's waiting to see how this harsh
05:53retaliation would look like, but there will most certainly be one because again, don't forget this
05:58was in the Iranian soil. You mentioned the Gaza war. Of course, that's at the heart of this story.
06:05What impact do you think the killing of Haniyeh will have on efforts to negotiate an end to the
06:12Gaza war, given that Haniyeh himself was seen as a key negotiator for Hamas?
06:17Absolutely. And the sentiment on the ground is, how can you have negotiation? How can there be
06:23a possibility of ceasefire where you have killed the principal chief in the ceasefire negotiation?
06:31And again, earlier, I was speaking with folks in Gaza. I'm in touch with them through my
06:36charity organization, Art of Hope. And many of them were focused precisely on this, that when
06:44will there be an end to the killing? When would be an end to this violence? And Nadia, if I may
06:51just say back to Lebanon and Iran, the people of these countries want none of this. Again,
06:57speaking with Iranians in Iran and also Lebanese people, I spent many years in Lebanon.
07:02No one there, none of the civilians want an all-out war. But back to the state of
07:10the current war in Gaza, of course, the talks of ceasefire will come to a halt.
07:19However, Anthony Blinken hours ago, I believe, he's in Asia right now, he said that the focus
07:27should be on ceasefire talks. And the deputy commander of Hamas in Tehran just an hour ago
07:34also said that we should focus on ceasefire. That's what the people in Gaza want. But again,
07:39when you've taken out the principal chief negotiator of the ceasefire, that makes it
07:43complicated. Tara Kangaloo, great to talk to you. Thanks very much. Thanks much.