I was shocked: Nitin Gadkaris chance meeting with Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh shortly before his killing in Iran

New Delhi: Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday said he had met Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh just hours before the latter was assassinated in Tehran last year.

Speaking at a book launch event, Gadkari recounted that the meeting took place shortly before Haniyeh was killed inside a highly secure military complex in the Iranian capital. Gadkari said he was in Iran at the request of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to represent India at the swearing-in ceremony of Iran's newly elected President, Masoud Pezeshkian.

Ahead of the ceremony, Gadkari said several heads of state and senior leaders from different countries had gathered informally at a five-star hotel in Tehran. "All the heads of various nations were present, but one person who wasn't a head of state was Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. I met him. I also saw him going to the swearing-in ceremony along with the President and the Chief Justice," Gadkari said.

According to the minister, after the ceremony he returned to his hotel, but around 4 am, he was asked to leave immediately. "I was told that Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh had been assassinated. I was shocked," Gadkari said, adding that at the time, Iranian officials said the details of the killing were not yet clear.

Iranian authorities later confirmed that Haniyeh was killed at around 1.15 am on July 31, while staying at a heavily guarded military facility under the protection of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). One of Haniyeh's bodyguards was also killed in the attack.

Gadkari said uncertainty still surrounds the exact method used in the assassination. "Some say it happened due to mobile phone tracking, while others suggest different methods," he told the audience.

Gadkari also said that strong nations are difficult to attack, citing Israel as an example, and said that technological advancement and military capability play a key role in national security.

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The IRGC had earlier said the attack involved a short-range missile fired at the building where Haniyeh was staying. Haniyeh was in Tehran to attend President Pezeshkian's inauguration.

A report by The Telegraph claimed that Israel's intelligence agency Mossad may have used Iranian security operatives to plant explosives inside the building where Haniyeh was staying. Citing Iranian officials, the report said explosive devices were allegedly placed in multiple rooms of an IRGC guesthouse in northern Tehran and remotely detonated. Israeli authorities have not publicly commented on the report.