Iranians mourn Hamas leader Haniyeh's death in Tehran

A mourning ceremony and funeral procession was held in Tehran on Thursday for top Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated in Iran on Wednesday.

Hamas Politburo Chief Ismail Haniyeh and one of his bodyguards were killed early Wednesday when their residence was hit in Tehran, Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said on the same day.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei presided over the mourning ceremony in Tehran, and martial law was imposed on nearby streets, with only pedestrians allowed.

Residents held up portraits of Haniyeh and the Iranian and Palestinian flags on streets to express their condolences for the late Hamas leader and their support for the Palestinian people, and called on the Iranian government to severely punish the murderer and take retaliatory actions against Israel.

"I think Iran should defend its rights against this injustice and respond to this crime so that Israel will not do this again in Iran," said Iranian resident Morad.

Many residents said that Israel has carried out many similar assassinations in Iran over the years, and this assassination of the top Hamas official in Iran is to divert the pressure Israel faces from the resistance front.

The resistance front is a term often used to refer to an unwritten regional coalition comprising mainly Shiite countries and groups in West Asia, which seek to fight Israel and end its occupation of the Palestinian territories and free the region from the West's domination.

"Israel has done many similar assassination operations and now they are trying to make up for their failure in Gaza, but Israel will not achieve anything they want to achieve," said another resident Mohammad.

Many also believed that the United States, as a supporter and ally of Israel, has continued to provide full support to Israel in various fields since the current round of conflict broke out, and the United States has always been the main factor causing unrest in the Middle East.

"If the United States could provide security for the region, there wouldn't be so many deaths in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria. The United States will cause destruction wherever it goes. The United States, a country that claims to fight terrorism, is itself a major supporter of terrorists, their words are false," said Abu Gasim, a resident.

Haniyeh's body will be transferred to Qatari capital Doha ahead of his burial on Friday.

Iranians mourn Hamas leader Haniyeh's death in Tehran

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday called for joint efforts with Spain to add new dimensions to bilateral relations when meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who is on an official visit to China from September 8 to 11.

Xi said pursuing peace and development remains the trend of the times in today's turbulent world, adding that responsible countries like China and Spain should take a holistic and long-term view in developing their relations and jointly make contribution to global peace and stability.

"In today's changing and turbulent world where challenges keep emerging, pursuing peace and development remains the trend of the times and accords with the will of the people. China and Spain are both countries with a sense of responsibility and mission. The two sides should take a holistic and long-term view, strengthen bilateral cooperation, expand coordination on multilateral occasions, and add new dimensions to the comprehensive strategic partnership, to make greater contribution to world peace, stability and human progress," Xi said.

Sanchez said his visit aims to deepen Spain-China ties and that Spain hopes to conduct constructive cooperation with China.

"It is a great honor for me to visit China again one year after our last meeting. President Xi, the purpose of my visit is to further deepen bilateral relations based on mutual respect and recognition. China is a country committed to peace and I believe its influence is of great importance. China plays a key role in the world, including in Europe. Spain hopes to carry out constructive cooperation with China and work toward closer, richer and more balanced China-EU relations," he said.

Xi calls for adding new dimensions to China-Spain ties