Senior officials in Iran told the New York Times on Wednesday morning that Tehran’s top leadership was "in utter shock," by the dramatic assassination of senior Hamas official, Ismail Haniyeh.
According to the officials, this assassination also questions Iran's security reputation and its ability to protect its borders against such attacks.
The Al-Mayadeen network reported that an Iranian source claimed that Haniyeh was eliminated by a missile that was launched from another country. Even so, Tehran officially stated that they are still investigating exactly how the senior terrorist was eliminated.
Leader of the Islamic Jihad, Ziyad al-Nakhalah, was also inside the building where Haniyeh was staying, although according to estimates he was not injured, which may also indicate the precise attack against Haniyeh, who was on a different floor than al-Nakhalah.
Haniyeh, head of Hamas's political bureau, was visiting Tehran to participate in the inauguration ceremony of the new president of Iran, which took place Tuesday. Saudi media reported that Haniyeh was killed in his bedroom by a guided missile, launched at him at 02:00, Tehran time.
Hamas issued a statement accusing Israel of the assassination: "The Islamic Resistance movement mourns its leader Ismail Haniyeh, who died as a result of a treacherous Zionist raid on his residence in Tehran, after he had participated in the inauguration ceremony of the new Iranian president," the movement announced.
A member of the political bureau of Hamas, Moussa Abu Marzouk, commented on the assassination, and said that, "The assassination of commander Ismail Haniyeh is a cowardly act and will not go unanswered." On Tuesday, during the visit to Tehran, Haniyeh also met with Iran's supreme leader, the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Unlike Hamas, the Revolutionary Guards did not point an accusing finger at Israel at this stage and stated: "We are investigating the assassination of Haniyeh in Tehran and will announce the results of our investigation later." Israel, for the time being, has made no reference to the elimination of Haniyeh.
Haniyeh, 62 years old at the time of his death, replaced Khaled Masha'al in 2017 as head of Hamas's Political Bureau and before that served as prime minister of the Palestinian Authority. In 2003, he was slightly injured in an Israeli attempt to eliminate the Hamas leadership in Gaza.
A month after the October 7th massacre, his elder grandson and one of his granddaughters were killed in an Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip. In April 2024, three of his children and three of his grandchildren were killed in an Israeli attack in the Al-Shati refugee camp. In June, his sister was killed in an attack in Al-Shati.
The announcement of Haniyeh's assassination came a few hours after the IDF announced that Fuad Shukr, dubbed "the most senior military commander in Hezbollah and the head of the organization's strategic formation," was killed in an attack in Beirut.
Shukr served as the right-hand man and advisor on matters of war planning and management to Hezbollah leader, Nasrallah. The IDF reported that Fuad Shukr has been leading Hezbollah's fighting against Israel since October 8th and was responsible for the murder of 12 children in Majdal Shams and the murder of many Israeli and foreign citizens over the years.