Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of the terrorist group Hamas, was killed while attending the inauguration of Iran’s new President.
With tensions already high across the Middle East, another match was thrown into the tinderbox when the political leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, was assassinated in the Iranian Capital of Tehran. Haniyeh was in Iran for the inauguration of new Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and was staying north of the city. In the night following the inauguration, an explosion rocked the residence he was staying in, killing Haniyeh and a bodyguard.
There is confusion surrounding how the attack happened and who executed it according to differing media reports.
In a televised statement, the Iranian government claimed an “airborne guided projectile” hit the residence around 2 a.m. local time. Hamas closely matches the Iranian story, claiming an ‘airstrike’ killed Haniyeh. Reporting done by the New York Times, however, found that Haniyeh was killed by “detonating an explosive device planted in advance in his bedroom at the Iranian government official residence.”
Israel has not confirmed their involvement in the attack, but leaders from both Iran and Hamas were quick to blame Israel calling the attack a “Zionist strike” and a “grave escalation.” Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the country, went so far as to vow revenge against Israel in a post on his X account which was also briefly his pinned post.
Despite Israel staying silent on the matter, sources speaking to Axios said that “on Wednesday evening Israeli officials briefed their U.S. counterparts about the details of the operation.” The U.S. via an interview with Secretary of State Antony Blinken has denied all involvement in the assassination.
With political leaders in Iran calling for revenge, an attack on the Israeli homeland by Iran and its proxies could come at any time. Diplomatic channels have started to pick up chatter that an attack could be imminent and that Iran is warning Israeli allies in the region to stay out of the conflict.
Israel is preparing for a multifront attack similar to or worse than the direct assault launched by Iran earlier this year. The Times of Israel is reporting that the Israeli security establishment is on “peak alert” and members of a US-led international coalition which includes Britain and allied Arab states are bracing to intercept any attack.
U.S. officials, including Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Blinken, have vowed to support the defense of Israel while simultaneously calling for de-escalation in the region via negotiating a ceasefire in Gaza. The Times of Israel is also reporting that U.S. diplomats are ‘scrambling’ to revive the regional coalition that helped mostly thwart the assault launched by Iran on Israel earlier this year. While this early strike caused minimal damage inside Israel, Israeli political leaders fear this potential strike could cause significantly more damage.
While U.S. officials have expressed support for Israel, protests have sprung up across the United States with participants seemingly siding with Iran and its proxy groups. In Philadelphia over the weekend, a group was seen marching through the city streets waving the flag of Hezbollah which is an Iranian-funded terrorist group that is known to regularly attack Israel from within Lebanon.
