Iran confirmed on Saturday that reaching a ceasefire in the ongoing war in Gaza is a "priority" for Tehran, stressing at the same time its "legitimate right" to respond to the assassination of Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh in the Iranian capital, which it attributed to Israel.

"Our priority is to reach a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. Any agreement that Hamas agrees to, we will also recognize," Iran's permanent mission to the United Nations said.

But she also stressed that Israel "violated our national security and sovereignty through the recent terrorist act. We have the legitimate right to defend ourselves, which is completely unrelated to the ceasefire in Gaza."

"But we hope that the timing of our response and the manner in which it is implemented will not be at the expense of a possible ceasefire," the mission continued.

For his part, the political advisor to the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Shamkhani, said that the sole goal of killing the worshipers at the Tabeen School in Gaza and assassinating Haniyeh was to seek war and thwart the ceasefire negotiations.

Haniyeh was killed on July 31 in Tehran after participating in the inauguration of the new president, Masoud Pezeshkian.

Israel has not yet commented on the assassination, while Iran has vowed to take revenge on Israel, holding it responsible, which has put the entire region on alert and anticipation.

The United States, Qatar and Egypt, which are mediating between Israel and Hamas, issued a statement urging the resumption of talks to reach a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip on August 15 in Doha or Cairo "to close all remaining gaps and begin implementing the agreement without any delay."

The leaders of the three countries added: "It is time to conclude a ceasefire agreement and release the hostages and detainees."

On Friday, Israel agreed to resume these negotiations.