TEHRAN: Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on Saturday said that Israel assassinated Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh using a “short-range projectile” launched from outside of his accommodation in Tehran earlier this week.
The Guards described the attack as a “terrorist operation,” saying that the projectile, equipped with a warhead weighing approximately 7 kilograms, was fired from outside Haniyeh’s accommodation, causing a powerful explosion.
In a statement released on Saturday, the Revolutionary Guards detailed the method of the assassination, alleging that the attack was supported by the United States. Haniyeh was killed early Wednesday morning in Tehran, where he was present for the inauguration of Iran’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian.
The incident has escalated tensions in the region, with both Iran and Hamas vowing retaliation. The Revolutionary Guards have reiterated their promise to avenge Haniyeh’s death, threatening Israel with “severe punishment” at a time and place of their choosing.
The killing of Haniyeh follows an earlier Israeli airstrike on a Hezbollah stronghold in South Beirut, which resulted in the death of a senior Hezbollah commander. Israel had accused this commander of orchestrating a rocket attack on the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights.
In Iran, calls for revenge have intensified since Haniyeh’s assassination. The Kayhan daily has suggested that retaliatory actions could target major Israeli cities, including Tel Aviv and Haifa, as well as strategic locations and residences of officials implicated in the recent strikes.
The newspaper’s opinion piece highlighted the expected nature of the retaliation, predicting that operations would be “more diverse, more dispersed, and impossible to intercept.”
