Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced that Ismail Haniyeh and one of his bodyguards were assassinated in an attack on the residence of the Hamas leader in the Iranian capital Tehran early on Wednesday 10 August.
According to a report by the Tasnim news agency, which is affiliated with the IRGC, Ismail Haniyeh, head of the political office of Hamas, was assassinated at his residence in Tehran Wednesday morning. Haniyeh had travelled to Iran on the previous day to participate in the inauguration ceremony of the country’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian.
In response to Haniyeh’s killing, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said, “Haniyeh’s martyrdom in Tehran will strengthen the deep and unbreakable bond between Tehran, Palestine and the resistance.”
Senior Hamas official Musa Abu Marzook said that Hamas will respond to the attack. “We are confident of victory,” he said.
This assassination could pose significant challenges for the new Iranian government, escalating tensions in the Middle East, especially concerning Iran. According to a report from Tehran, Iran’s top security body is expected to convene to determine the country’s response to the death of Haniyeh, who was a close ally of Tehran.
Although Iranian news agencies have reported that the incident is still under investigation, MedyaNews sources in Tehran indicate that the attack involved a guided missile strike against Sa’ad Abad palace, a high-end residential complex north of Tehran, hitting Haniyeh’s bedroom directly.
Iran’s official news agency IRNA has announced three days of public mourning for Haniyeh.
In November 2020, then second-in-command of al-Qaeda Abu Mohammad al-Masri and his daughter were shot and killed on Pasdaran Avenue, Tehran, not far from Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence.
