On Saturday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards announced that Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, was killed in Tehran by a short-range projectile equipped with a 7 kg warhead. The incident, which occurred just hours after Haniyeh attended the inauguration of Iran’s new president, has heightened fears of escalating tensions between Tehran and Israel, raising the possibility of direct conflict in a region already destabilized by warfare in Gaza and intensifying strife in Lebanon.
The Revolutionary Guards have vowed a forceful retaliation for Haniyeh’s assassination, stating it would be “severe and at an appropriate time, place, and manner.” They attributed the assassination to the “terrorist Zionist regime” of Israel, echoing accusations from both Iran and Hamas that Israel was behind the fatal attack.
Further reports from The New York Times, based on unnamed sources, suggest that the explosive device that killed Haniyeh was secretly introduced into the guesthouse where he was staying in Tehran about two months prior to the attack.
While Israeli officials have not officially acknowledged any involvement in the incident, the Revolutionary Guards also pointed fingers at the “criminal U.S. government,” accusing it of supporting the attack, which took place in a northern suburb of Tehran.
Haniyeh was subsequently laid to rest in Qatar, where he had been residing.
