Iran has reiterated its determination to deal a painful blow to Israel, in response to its assassination of the head of the political bureau of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), Ismail Haniyeh, while he was in Tehran on July 31.

In the past few hours, Iranian officials have spoken about the inevitability of a harsh response to Israel in implementation of orders issued by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

The Iranian parliament speaker said, "According to the instructions of the Supreme Leader, we consider revenge for Haniyeh, who was martyred on our land, a religious and national duty."

For his part, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri stressed that Tehran will respond "legally and decisively" to the assassination of Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh.

This came in a conversation between the Iranian official and Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib.

Baqeri described Haniyeh's assassination in Tehran as a "strategic mistake" that would be "costly" for Israel.

He said that the Iranian response "will be costly, but it will be in the interest of security and stability, and thus in the interest of all countries in the region."

clear orders

Earlier, Iranian news agencies quoted the senior commander of the Revolutionary Guards, General Ali Fadavi, as saying that Tehran would carry out the order of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to inflict "severe punishment" on Israel over the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.

Iranian media quoted Fadavi as saying, "The orders of the Supreme Leader regarding imposing severe punishment on Israel in revenge for the blood of martyr Ismail Haniyeh are clear and explicit... and will be implemented in the best possible way."

Recently, Iran announced that it had received new military equipment and supplies, and said that it had enhanced the ability of its forces to confront any attack.

On the other hand, Israel and the United States continue to mobilize their military capabilities to repel the expected Iranian attack.