Senator Marco Rubio's Reaction to the Killing of Haniyeh: The Islamic Republic Has No Right to Complain

Marco Rubio, a senior Republican senator from Florida, reacted to the killing of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran by posting on X. In the post published on Wednesday, he wrote: "The Islamic Republic of Iran, which actively organizes assassination attempts against its opponents and former leaders of the United States on American soil, has no right to complain about this." Senator Rubio also stated: "The world is a better place without individuals like Ismail Haniyeh - the leader of a savage group that deliberately targeted innocent civilians, assaulted them, kidnapped them, murdered them, and committed to doing so again." The Tasnim news agency, close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, reported early Wednesday that Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas's political bureau, was killed in Tehran. The IRGC's public relations announced that Haniyeh's residence was hit, resulting in the deaths of Haniyeh and one of his bodyguards. The IRGC specified that the incident occurred early Wednesday at Haniyeh's residence in Tehran. Hours later, the Iranian Foreign Ministry claimed that the United States was responsible for Haniyeh's killing due to its support for Israel. However, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken emphasized on the same day that the United States had no involvement in Haniyeh's death and was unaware of it. Blinken stated during an interview with Asia News Channel while visiting Singapore: "This is something we were not aware of and had no involvement in. Speculating about this is very difficult." In response to a question about the potential impact of Haniyeh's death on the war, he said: "I have learned over the years never to speculate about the impact of one event on another." Previously, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin refrained from commenting on Haniyeh's killing but stressed that "war is not inevitable," although if Israel is attacked, the U.S. will certainly assist in its defense. During a visit to the Philippines, Austin responded to a reporter's question about Israel's potential role in the attack in Tehran and whether the U.S. was aware of the plan beforehand, stating that the U.S. had heard reports about it but would not comment on the details. He emphasized that "war is not inevitable" and that there is "space and opportunity" for diplomacy. He expressed hope that all parties would strive to take advantage of "these opportunities." Austin also reiterated that if Israel is attacked, "we will certainly assist in defending Israel." He referred to U.S. assistance to Israel in April and stated, "We will do this again." Austin's reference was to the Iranian missile and drone attacks on Israel in April and U.S. assistance in defending Israel. However, he emphasized that the U.S. would work to reduce tensions and resolve issues through diplomatic channels. Following the terrorist attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7, which resulted in the deaths of 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and the kidnapping of over 250 others, including children, women, and the elderly, Israel launched an offensive on Gaza aimed at destroying this Islamist group supported by the Islamic Republic of Iran and freeing the kidnapped hostages. The Iranian government, which had declared its comprehensive support for Hamas's terrorist attack from the outset, began attacks on Israel and U.S. positions in the region through its proxy groups, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen. In recent months, the Houthis have carried out multiple drone and missile attacks against commercial ships in the region, and in response, the U.S. and its allies have formed an international coalition to target the positions of this Iran-backed group with their decisive attacks. Follow the latest developments related to this news on the live blog of Voice of America.