The people responsible for the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh stored a bomb in the guesthouse in Tehran he was staying in for about two months before detonating it overnight into Wednesday, according to the New York Times.
Israel is widely believed to be responsible for Haniyeh’s assassination, though it has not taken credit for it. It largely does not take responsibility for covert operations carried out in enemy territory.
Haniyeh was in Iran to attend the presidential inauguration, and when he returned to the guesthouse in an upscale neighborhood in northern Tehran that is run and protected by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the perpetrators detonated the bomb remotely. The blast, which shook the compound, shattered some windows, caused the partial collapse of an exterior wall, and killed a bodyguard.
The Hamas leader, who was based in Qatar, had traveled to Tehran and stayed at the guesthouse several times.
The new details of Haniyeh’s death further demonstrate Tehran’s abject failure and the brazenness of the attack. It also demonstrates the extent of Israel’s ability to target enemies even within Tehran.
“Haniyeh was a guest of the Ayatollah, so it was quite a slap in the face and embarrassment to the regime, and shows, once again, the prowess of the Israeli intelligence and military,” former U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper told the Washington Examiner.
Overnight into Thursday, the Israeli military confirmed it had killed Hamas military leader Mohammed Deif in strikes earlier in July. The last remaining well-known Hamas leader thought to be tied to the Oct. 7 terrorist attack that ignited the current conflict is Yahya Sinwar. He is believed to be hiding underground in Hamas’s extensive tunnel infrastructure under Gaza.
Iran is deliberating how it should respond, and its retaliation could include proxy forces in the region, including Hezbollah in Lebanon, militias in Iraq, and the Houthis in Yemen.
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There are concerns globally that the escalating situation in the Middle East could spur an escalation in the war between Israel and Iran and their proxies.
“We don’t believe that an escalation is inevitable, and there’s no signs that an escalation is imminent,” U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on Wednesday.