Iranian authorities have expressed hope that the response to the assassination in Tehran of the head of the Palestinian Hamas political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, will be timely and will not affect the ceasefire talks in the Gaza Strip, a statement released by Iran's permanent mission to the UN says, Azernews reports.

"We have a legitimate right to self-defense, and this is not related to the ceasefire process in Gaza. However, we hope that our response will be timely and will not harm the possible ceasefire," the statement says.

Iran stresses that its priority is to achieve a sustainable ceasefire in Gaza, and any agreement reached by Hamas will be supported by Tehran.