NYT: Haniyeh Was Killed By A Bomb Israel Planted in Tehran Two Months Ago
Haniyeh was in Tehran for the inauguration of
President Pezeshkian and had stayed at the same guest house in previous visits
by Dave DeCamp August 1, 2024
Hamas’s political chief, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed by
a bomb Israeli intelligence planted at an official guest residency in Tehran
about two months ago, The New York Times reported on Thursday.
Haniyeh was in Tehran for the inauguration of Iranian
President Masoud Pezeshkian and had stayed at the guest residence on previous
visits. The Times report, which cited five Middle East
officials, two Iranian officials, and one American, said the bomb was detonated
remotely when it was confirmed Haniyeh was in a room at the guest house.
The explosion killed Haniyeh and his bodyguard at
about 2:00 am local time. Hamas officials initially said a missile struck the
building, but there was no sign of Israeli warplane activity in the area.
Axios also reported Haniyeh was killed by a bomb planted at the
guest house in advance by the Israeli spy agency Mossad. The residency was
heavily guarded by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC), and the
assassination demonstrates the Mossad’s deep reach within the Islamic Republic.
Israel has a history of conducting covert attacks
inside Iran, including assassinations with gunmen, small drone attacks, and
similar operations involving explosives. Israel has been responsible for
several explosions inside Iran’s Natanz civilian nuclear facility.
According to an Israeli media report from 2021, Israeli intelligence made sure a marble foundation
that was used for centrifuges in Natanz was packed with explosives during
construction. A bomb was detonated at the facility in April 2021, which was
meant to sabotage indirect negotiations between the US and Iran that resumed
around the same time.
The Israeli killing of Haniyeh was likely designed to
sabotage both ceasefire negotiations with Hamas and any chances of the US and
Iran engaging in sanctions relief. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who is
considered a moderate, pledged to work to get sanctions
lifted in his inauguration speech.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has
vowed Iran will take “revenge” for the assassination, and the Times reported
that he has ordered a direct attack on Israel. The US is pledging to defend Israel from any attack that might come in response to the
killing of Haniyeh or the strike in Beirut that killed a high-level Hezbollah
commander.
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