'I was in Iran': Nitin Gadkari recalls meeting Hamas chief hours before his assassination

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has revealed that he came face-to-face with Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran just hours before the latter was assassinated inside a heavily-guarded Iranian facility.

Speaking at a book launch, Gadkari recounted his visit to Iran in July 2024, where he attended the swearing-in ceremony of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had sent him to Iran to represent India at the event.

Describing the sequence of events, Gadkari said global leaders and dignitaries had assembled at a five-star hotel in Tehran ahead of the inauguration. Among those present was Haniyeh, even though he did not hold any formal state position.

"The event was at 5 pm. All the heads of various nations reached and sat in a small room. They were later welcomed. But one person who wasn't a head of state I met him and asked. He was Hamas leader (Ismail Haniyeh). I saw him heading behind with the President and the Chief Justice. Iran had given him priority," Gadkari said.

According to the minister, the situation changed dramatically in the early hours after the ceremony. Gadkari said he had returned to his hotel when, at around 4 am, the Iranian ambassador to India approached him and told him that he needed to leave immediately.

"When I asked what had happened, I was told that the Hamas chief had been assassinated. I asked how it happened, and the answer was, ‘I don't know yet’," he said.

Iran later confirmed that Haniyeh was killed at around 1.15 am on July 31, 2024, while staying at a highly secured military facility in Tehran under the supervision of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. His bodyguard was also killed in the attack.

Gadkari said the exact method of the assassination remained unclear. "Some people say he was killed because of using his mobile phone. Some say it happened in some other way," he told the audience.

During the same address, Gadkari also spoke about global power equations and national security, arguing that a country's strength determines its safety. Referring to Israel and its technological and military capabilities despite its small size, he said that if a country is strong, "no country can lay a hand on it."

The IRGC has stated that the building where Haniyeh was staying was struck by a short-range missile.