Nitin Gadkari recalls his close encounter, handshake with Hamas Chief in Iran hours before his assassination. Watch video

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari recalled his meeting with the head of the political bureau of Hamas hours before he was assassinated in Iran in 2024. Speaking at a book launch, the BJP leader recalled his visit to Iran and how he met the Hamas leader before he was assassinated in a heavily guarded military complex in the Iranian capital. Nitin Gadkari said he had travelled to Iran at the request of Prime Minister Modi, who asked him to represent India at the swearing-in ceremony of Iran's newly elected president, Masoud Pezeshkian. Though Nitin Gadkari did not directly name the Hamas chief, the remarks most likely referred to Hamas political chief Ismail Haaniyeh, who was killed in Tehran after attending Pezeshkian's inauguration ceremony.

Speaking at a book launch, Nitin Gadkari recalled global leaders and dignitaries had gathered at a five-star hotel in Tehran ahead of the inauguration and among them was Hamas Chief, who was walking beside Chief Justice and Prime Minister. The Hamas Chief, he said, did not hold any formal state position.

"All the heads of various nations were present, but one person who wasn't a head of state. I met him and shook hands with him. He was the Hamas Chief. He was going to the swearing-in ceremony along with the President and the Chief Justice. The government had given him importance." Gadkari said.


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Hamas Chief assassinated, recalls Nitin Gadkari

But the situation took a drastic U-turn in the wee hours after the inauguration ceremony. Nitin Gadkari said he had returned to his hotel when, at around 4 am, the Iranian ambassador to India approached him and informed him that he needed to leave immediately.

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

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According to Gadkari, the precise 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 said, further highlighting how the leader was assassinated despite being kept inside a bungalow. The Union Minister mentioned the incident to point out the need for futuristic technology and vision in trade, defence, business and export.

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Haniyeh's assassination

Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Iran’s capital Tehran in 2024. Haniyeh, 62, had attended the swearing-in ceremony of Iran’s newly elected President Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday shortly before he was assassinated. He was arrested by the Israeli military and served several sentences in Israeli jails in the 1980s, according to Al Jazeera. In 2018, the United States under President Donald Trump designated Haniyeh a “terrorist”, saying he had been a “proponent of armed struggle, including against civilians”

While there was some suspense over how he was assassinated, Iranian authorities later said that a "short-range projectile" was launched from outside of his accommodation. Both Hamas and Iran's Revolutionary Guards had accused Israel of being behind the incident.