Mournful Iranians bid final farewell to slain Hamas political chief, vow revenge

Mournful people from different walks of life in the Iranian capital Tehran on Thursday held a funeral procession for Hamas Politburo Chief Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in an alleged Israeli attack a day before.

The ceremony officially began at 08:00 local time (0430 GMT) at the University of Tehran, where Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei led the funeral prayers for the Hamas political chief and his security guard, who was also killed in the same attack.

The funeral prayers were attended by many top Iranian commanders and officials, including President Masoud Pezeshkian, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and Judiciary Chief Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei, as well as a large number of mourners.

During the procession, a huge number of Iranians, including top officials and military commanders, accompanied the Hamas political leader's body from the University of Tehran to the iconic Azadi square in central Tehran, while chanting slogans in condemnation of Israel and the United States, holding pictures of Haniyeh and late General Qassem Soleimani, the top Iranian commander who was killed in an attack by the United States in Iraq in January 2020, and waving Iranian and Palestinian flags.

"It's absolutely wrong. They assassinated our dear guest in our own country," said Reyhaneh, a resident in Tehran.

"I demand the most severe and crushing response to this attack. A response that will prevent them from violating our territory again," said Fatemeh, a Tehran resident.

"Israel martyred our guest in our house. Israel should definitely expect a new operation from Iran," said Abolfazl, another Tehran resident.

At the end of the ceremony, which lasted four hours, the Iranians bade a final farewell to the Hamas political leader before the transfer of his body to the Qatari capital city of Doha to be laid to rest.

While a number of countries have strongly condemned the violation of Iranian airspace and blamed Israel for an act of terror, there are serious concerns that ceasefire negotiations to end Israel's war in Gaza are more fragile than ever. The world's eyes are closely monitoring events in Palestine and the wider region, as tensions also escalate between Israel and Lebanese group Hezbollah, and fears mount over Iran's expected retaliation.

Analysts believe the next steps taken by various resistance groups across the Middle East could play a crucial role in determining not only the future of Palestine, but the region as a whole.

Haniyeh, who had been invited to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the Iranian president on Tuesday, was killed along with his bodyguard early Wednesday when their residence in Tehran was hit.

Iran accused Israel of carrying out the assassination while Israel has yet to confirm its involvement.

Mournful Iranians bid final farewell to slain Hamas political chief, vow revenge

Mournful Iranians bid final farewell to slain Hamas political chief, vow revenge

Mournful Iranians bid final farewell to slain Hamas political chief, vow revenge

Mournful Iranians bid final farewell to slain Hamas political chief, vow revenge

Chinese Premier Li Qiang held talks with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store in Beijing on Tuesday.

Noting that this year marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Norway, Li said the relations between the two countries have maintained sound and steady development.

Li said Chinese President Xi Jinping's meeting with Store summed up the experience of China-Norway diplomatic relations over the past 70 years and made strategic plans for further deepening bilateral relations.

Standing at a new starting point, China is willing to work with Norway to implement the consensus of the leaders of the two countries, consolidate political mutual trust, adhere to mutual respect, equality, mutual benefit and win-win cooperation, strengthen exchanges at all levels and in various fields, elevate bilateral relations and practical cooperation to a new level, and make greater contributions to world peace and development, he said.

Li said China is ready to work with Norway to expand economic and trade cooperation, and further unleash potential for cooperation in trade and finance.

China welcomes Norway to increase investment in the Chinese market, and is willing to work with Norway to create a better business environment for each other's enterprises to come to invest and do business, he said.

Li said the two sides should deepen people-to-people exchanges and facilitate personnel exchanges.

China is ready to strengthen cooperation with Norway in the green transition of traditional industries and the cultivation of green emerging industries, and work with the country to consolidate international coordination, advance the implementation of the U.N. 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and build a community with a shared future for mankind, he said.

For his part, Store said Norway firmly adheres to the one-China policy, and is willing to be China's trustworthy partner.

Store said he hopes that the two countries will take the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relationship establishment as an opportunity to strengthen exchanges and dialogue at all levels, expand cooperation in trade, green economy, Arctic affairs, and climate change, deepen people-to-people exchanges, strengthen communication and coordination in multilateral affairs and jointly address global challenges.

Norway has always upheld fair trade, maintained multilateral trading system and supported China and the European Union in strengthening dialogue and cooperation.

After the talks, Li and Store signed a joint statement on establishing a green transition dialogue between the two countries, and witnessed the signing of bilateral cooperation documents. Prior to the talks, Li held a welcome ceremony for Store at the Great Hall of the People.

Chinese premier meets Norwegian PM in Beijing