Union Minister Nitin Gadkari recounted meeting Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran just hours before Haniyeh's assassination on July 31, 2024. Gadkari was in Iran to attend the swearing-in ceremony of President Masoud Pezeshkian, representing India at Prime Minister Modi's request. He encountered Haniyeh at a pre-ceremony gathering and later learned of his death from the Iranian ambassador early the next morning. The incident occurred at a secure military complex, with both Hamas and Iran's Revolutionary Guards attributing the attack to Israel.