ISMAIL HANIYEH ASSASSINATION: DETAILS REMAIN UNCLEAR AMID CONFLICTING REPORTS

Wed 31 July 2024:

Hours after Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in a strike on a building in Tehran on Wednesday, details remain scarce regarding the specifics of the attack. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps confirmed Haniyeh’s death, attributing the strike to Israel.

However, no additional information provided and no images of the targeted building were released. There were no reports of injuries or collateral damage apart from the death of Haniyeh’s bodyguard.

Investigation and Conflicting Reports

The IRGC announced it was investigating the incident and planned to release a full report. Iran’s Fars news agency reported that Haniyeh was in a building for war veterans when an “airborne guided projectile” hit at 2 a.m. An Iranian source claimed the missile was fired from outside Iran, but Israeli media suggested it might have been launched from within Iran’s borders. Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader Ziyad al-Nakhalah was reportedly in the same building but was not targeted.

An unnamed Iranian source told the Al-Madeeyan outlet that Haniyeh was killed by a missile and that it had been fired from outside Iran. The nearest borders to Tehran are those with Turkmenistan, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) away, and Azerbaijan, at around 300 kilometers (187.5 miles).

Haniyeh was in Tehran for the inauguration of Iran’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian. While Israel has not commented on the assassination, Iranian leaders, including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Pezeshkian, have vowed to seek revenge against Israel, promising “harsh punishment” and saying Israel would “regret” the killing.

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Historical Context and International Response

Israel is suspected of a long-standing assassination campaign targeting Iranian nuclear scientists and others associated with its nuclear program. Notably, Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was assassinated in November 2020 in a sophisticated operation attributed to Israel.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken denied US involvement in Haniyeh’s assassination and emphasized the importance of a ceasefire in Gaza.

Blinken stated, “This is something we were not aware of or involved in. It’s very hard to speculate,” and stressed the need for a ceasefire and the release of hostages to achieve enduring peace and security.

New York Times journalist Farnaz Fassihi, who heads the newspaper’s Iran desk, wrote on X that “Iranian officials are in utter shock over assassination of Haniyah, sources say, because it also delivers a huge blow to Iran’s security reputation at a time it wants to project power in the region.”

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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