DUBAI, August 20. /TASS/. Iran may take its time before responding to Israel killing Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, a spokesman for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC, Iran's elite military units) said.

"Time is on our side and the period of waiting can be long," the IRIB television channel quoted Ali Mohammad Naeini as saying.

He stressed that "not a single attack on Iran has ever remained unanswered and the enemy should expect measured and precise strikes in due time."

"Iran’s response may differ from its previous operations and the Iranian military has enough experience to deftly punish enemies, not being prone to hasty actions," he added.

According to the ITGC spokesman, Israel "has failed to achieve any of its goals and has admitted its defeat, which is acknowledged even by American politicians." He said that Israelis "should have already lost [psychological] balance" expecting Iran’s response any moment.

On July 31, the radical Palestinian movement Hamas said that Politburo Chairman Ismail Haniyeh was killed in an Israeli strike on his residence in Tehran, where he had arrived to attend the inauguration Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC, Iran's elite military units) said that Haniyeh was killed by a short-range projectile with a warhead weighing about 7 kilograms, adding that his assassination was organized by Israel with the US’ support. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that Israel would face severe punishment for the Palestinian politician’s assassination.