According to a report by the New York Times, the individuals responsible for the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh had been storing a bomb in the guesthouse in Tehran where he was staying for approximately two months before detonating it remotely. The explosion, which occurred overnight into Wednesday, damaged the compound and killed a bodyguard.
Haniyeh had traveled to Tehran to attend the presidential inauguration and was staying at the guesthouse, which is run and protected by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The fact that the perpetrators were able to carry out the attack in such a secure location has raised questions about Tehran’s ability to protect its guests.
The assassination is widely believed to have been carried out by Israel, although the country has not taken credit for it. Israel rarely acknowledges its involvement in covert operations in enemy territory.
The details of Haniyeh’s death have highlighted the brazenness of the attack and the extent of Israel’s ability to target its enemies, even in Tehran. Former U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper described the attack as a “slap in the face” to the Iranian regime and a demonstration of Israel’s intelligence and military prowess.
In a separate development, the Israeli military confirmed that it had killed Hamas military leader Mohammed Deif in strikes earlier in July. The remaining Hamas leader believed to be tied to the October 7 terrorist attack is Yahya Sinwar, who is thought to be hiding underground in Hamas’s tunnel infrastructure under Gaza.
Iran is currently deliberating how to respond to Haniyeh’s assassination, and its retaliation could involve proxy forces in the region, including Hezbollah in Lebanon, militias in Iraq, and the Houthis in Yemen. There are concerns that the escalating situation in the Middle East could lead to a wider conflict between Israel and Iran and their proxies.
However, U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby stated that there are no signs of an imminent escalation, and that the U.S. does not believe that an escalation is inevitable.
