Mossad: How Hamas chief killed by bomb smuggled into his Tehran room
Joseph Irikefe
Mossad agents in Iran detonated an explosive device in the bedroom of Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas leader, which had been planted months earlier, it has been reported.
The bomb was placed two months ago in the house, which is run and protected by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
A source who spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed the report to The Telegraph.
The bomb was detonated remotely when it was confirmed that the Hamas leader was inside the guesthouse. Haniyeh had apparently stayed in the guest house several times in the past.
Two IRGC officials said the explosion shook the building, and shattered some windows. The severe security breach was described as “catastrophic” and a “tremendous embarrassment” for the IRGC, according to the three Iranian officials.
Ismail Haniyeh was killed alongside his bodyguard in the early hours of Wednesday morning
US outlet Axios reported that Mossad was behind the assassination and planted the explosive device in Haniyeh’s bedroom.
The bomb was reportedly a “high-tech device that used artificial intelligence”.
While Israel has not taken responsibility for the assassination, five Middle Eastern officials said the US and Western governments were briefed by Israeli intelligence in the aftermath of the blast.
The planning of the attack took months and required extensive surveillance of the compound, the officials added.
Israel was bracing itself for Iran to respond with one official telling The Telegraph “sensitive sites” were being protected across the country.
While Hamas said that the response will be harsh, the terror group said neither it nor Iran are interested in a regional war.
Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s leader, said that Israel “crossed a line” with its killing of a senior commander in Beirut on Tuesday, and that Israel won’t know where the response will come from.
Israel should expect “rage and revenge on all the fronts supporting Gaza”, Nasrallah said.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, said the country was “prepared for what may come”.
“Israel is in a state of very high readiness for any scenario – on both defence and offence,” he said.
“We will exact a very high price for any act of aggression against us from any quarter whatsoever.”
‘Evaluating options’
An official within the IRGC said that Iran is considering targeting Tel Aviv in revenge for Haniyeh’s assassination in Tehran.
“Top commanders were awake all night evaluating the options. Now that Mr Haniyeh’s funeral has concluded, they are discussing practical responses,” said the IRGC official who attended the funeral.
“The first step is to determine the country from which the attack originated, that will be our initial target. Targeting Tel Aviv directly is under consideration but has not been approved yet. The commanders need to review our options.
“There are also discussions about coordinating a missile attack with Hezbollah, but first, they must pinpoint the exact launch site.
“The response will come from Sepah [the IRGC] in coordination with other military forces.”
On Thursday, Israel confirmed the death of Mohammed Deif, the Hamas chief-of-staff, more than two weeks after it launched a deadly airstrike in Gaza to kill him.
“Deif was responsible for the terrible massacre of October 7 as well as for many murderous terrorist attacks against the citizens of Israel. He was Israel’s most wanted fugitive for many years,” Mr Netanyahu said.
The IDF said fighter jets conducted a “precise, targeted strike on a compound in which Mohammed Deif and Rafa’a Salameh, the Commander of Hamas’ Khan Yunis Brigade, were located”.
Lebanon did not expect Beirut to be hit
Haniyeh’s body was brought to Qatar on Thursday, following a public funeral in Tehran.
He will be buried in Doha on Friday, after prayers at the Imam Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab Mosque. The Hamas leader lived in Qatar along with other senior exiled members of the terror group.
The burial, Hamas said, will be held “with popular and factional attendance and the participation of Arab and Islamic leaders”.
Thousands of people gathered on the streets of Tehran to pay their respects to the terror leader, following a ceremony attended by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and top IRGC leaders.
Both Iran and Hamas have blamed Israel for the assassination of Haniyeh.
Israel has not taken responsibility for the assassination, but when IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari was asked about it during a press briefing on Thursday, he said: “There was no additional airstrike in the Middle East that night, nor was there any missile or UAV”, referring to an Israeli airstrike the same night that killed a top Hezbollah commander in Beirut.
Hezbollah did not clear sensitive sites or evacuate top officials in Beirut ahead of that Israeli strike as the group believed that the US would convince Israel not to strike the capital, Reuters reported, citing diplomats and security sources close to Hezbollah.
“We were not expecting them to hit Beirut and they hit Beirut,” Abdallah Bou Habib, Lebanon’s foreign minister said.
Several diplomats said that there was a “clear message sent” to Lebanon that Israel would not attack big cities.
“Israelis do not listen to a word that we tell them. They are following their plan and don’t listen to us,” a European diplomat said.