The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has claimed responsibility for the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, stating that he was killed by a “short-range missile” fired from outside his guesthouse in Tehran. According to the IRGC, the missile weighed approximately 7 kilograms (16 pounds) and caused a “powerful explosion” that led to the deaths of Haniyeh and his bodyguard last Wednesday. Haniyeh was in Tehran to attend the inauguration of President Masoud Pejashkian.
The IRGC has accused Israel of designing and executing the operation with U.S. support. Israel has yet to comment on Haniyeh’s death. This claim contrasts with Western media reports suggesting that explosives were planted in the guesthouse by Israeli operatives.
The failures surrounding Haniyeh’s assassination, particularly on a day when security was heightened, have caused significant embarrassment for Iran and the IRGC. The New York Times reported on Saturday that numerous IRGC officials have been arrested or dismissed since Haniyeh’s death. The organization’s intelligence agency has taken over the investigation, questioning staff at the guesthouse and seizing their phones and electronic devices.
In response, Iranian political leaders have revamped their security measures. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei prayed for Haniyeh on Thursday, but his security detail swiftly removed him from the area afterward.
The IRGC’s statement came after Britain’s Daily Telegraph reported that Haniyeh was killed by bombs planted in his room by agents of the Israeli Mossad. The newspaper cited Iranian sources claiming that two Mossad agents entered the guesthouse and planted explosives in three rooms. According to Iranians who reviewed CCTV footage, the agents left the country before the bombs detonated.
The New York Times reported that Haniyeh’s death resulted from explosives planted two months earlier, though these claims have not been independently confirmed by the BBC. Hamas officials told the BBC earlier this week that Haniyeh had previously stayed at the same guesthouse and had made 15 trips to Iran since he took over as head of Hamas’s political bureau in 2017.
If the reports hold true, it would mark a major setback for the IRGC, which has traditionally managed internal security in the country. Analysts also suggest this incident highlights the extent of Mossad’s unchecked operations within Iran.
Despite the method of Haniyeh’s death, both Iran and Hamas have vowed retaliation. The IRGC stated on Saturday that Israel will face “severe punishment” at the “appropriate time, place, and manner.”
In Lebanon, the Iran-backed militia and political group Hezbollah has also vowed revenge following the death of one of their top commanders, Fuad Shukur, in an Israeli attack last Tuesday. Earlier this year, following the death of IRGC Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Jahedi in an Israeli operation in Damascus, Iran launched 170 drones, 30 cruise missiles, and at least 110 ballistic missiles at Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has cautioned that “challenging days are ahead,” emphasizing, “We have received threats from all sides and are ready for any scenario.” To prepare for possible assaults on the nation’s communication networks, ministers were issued satellite phones and sent home over the weekend.
Despite these warnings, the atmosphere on Tel Aviv’s beaches remained calm, with bronze bodies lounging under umbrellas. However, there is little doubt that the Middle East is nearing the brink of full-scale war. Israel is currently on heightened alert, prompting numerous international airlines to halt their flights to the region.
The Pentagon has announced the deployment of additional warships and fighter jets to the Middle East to help protect Israel from potential attacks by Iran and its allies.
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy has warned that “the situation on the ground is rapidly deteriorating.”
Meanwhile, Hamas-operated media reported that at least 10 people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a school sheltering displaced persons in Gaza’s Sheikh Radwan area. This occurred as Israel announced the deaths of Hamas commanders and four senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad fighters in airstrikes in the occupied West Bank on Saturday. The Israeli military stated that the airstrikes targeted a vehicle as its occupants were preparing for an attack.
In contrast, Israeli officials, including Mossad and Shin Bet directors, have arrived in Cairo for fresh ceasefire talks. They are scheduled to sit down with Egypt’s intelligence head, Abbas Kamel, along with high-ranking military officials to discuss the possibility of a ceasefire. However, U.S. President Joe Biden acknowledged on Friday that Haniyeh’s death had damaged the peace talks. Haniyeh had been significantly involved in the negotiations, and President Biden noted that his death “does not help” efforts to end the ten-month-old conflict.
The war began in October when Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza. According to Hamas-operated health ministry, the Israeli military’s extensive counterattacks have resulted in the deaths of at least 39,550 Palestinians in Gaza.
