Mossad Operation in Tehran; Details on the Killing of Ismail Haniyeh and Its Consequences

On the evening of December 29, Israeli Channel 12 reported on the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, the then head of the political bureau of the extremist group Hamas, stating that the Mossad operation involved placing an explosive device in his accommodation room in Tehran. Haniyeh was killed in the early hours of August 1, just hours after attending the inauguration ceremony of the new president, Masoud Pezeshkian, and meeting with Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, in a secret residence designated for high-ranking guests of the Islamic Republic and the Revolutionary Guards. Haniyeh's bodyguard, who was with him in the bedroom, also lost his life. Contrary to reports published in the early days following this event in the American newspaper 'New York Times' and the British 'Telegraph,' which attributed Haniyeh's death to a 'bombing' in his room, the Revolutionary Guards issued three statements, with the third stating that 'the terrorist operation was carried out by firing a short-range projectile with a warhead of about seven kilograms, accompanied by a severe explosion, from outside the guest accommodation area.' Senior commanders of the Revolutionary Guards deemed the investigations conducted as 'complete' and the results as 'definitive.' However, Israeli Channel 12 reported that the Revolutionary Guards, who entered Haniyeh's room in the first moments, realized that the explosion was not caused by a projectile. For the first time, the Israeli television report suggested the possible role of Hamas's own forces in planting the bomb in Haniyeh's room or a combination of cooperation among related agents. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, briefly referred to Haniyeh's killing in a speech in the Knesset last month as part of Israel's recent actions to eliminate its enemies, but Israel Katz, the Minister of Defense, officially took responsibility for the assassination last week. Katz threatened the leaders of the Houthis in Yemen, who have increased missile and explosive drone attacks against Israel, stating that his country would deal with this rebel group as it had with Haniyeh in Tehran, Yahya Sinwar in Gaza, and Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon. According to Channel 12, after accepting responsibility for the assassination, some details were revealed. The report stated that Mossad, tracking Ismail Haniyeh, who frequently traveled to Iran, discovered that he usually resided in the mentioned accommodation and in a specific room. The report noted that when Haniyeh returned to the accommodation that night, the air conditioner in the room was broken, and Mossad 'worried' that his hosts would change his room, but the air conditioner was quickly repaired. Iran condemned Israel's 'confession' to the killing of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. The report indicated that the bomb was detonated remotely, and Khalil al-Hayya, another senior Hamas figure who had traveled to Tehran with Haniyeh but was in another room, came to Haniyeh's room upon hearing the explosion; 'he knelt down, weeping; dramatic moments...' The expressions in this report seemingly indicate that Mossad officials were observing the details in this accommodation from a distance at that moment. The report stated that the 'Ansar al-Mahdi' unit in the Revolutionary Guards, responsible for protecting senior regime officials and high-ranking guests, is composed of individuals whom the regime has 'ensured' are not in contact with foreign and hostile elements, are highly skilled in hand-to-hand combat, and that protecting a guest like Haniyeh is a mission equivalent to protecting their president. The report added that the operation to eliminate Haniyeh was a step above the simultaneous explosion of thousands of Hezbollah pagers three months ago in Lebanon, as Israel had penetrated the 'depth' of the most protected location in Tehran. The extremist group Hamas, on October 7, 2023, launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing over 1,200 Israelis and abducting 251, leading to a war in the Middle East that is still ongoing. Israeli security officials had previously made multiple proposals to Benjamin Netanyahu to kill Hamas leaders in Gaza, but the Prime Minister had rejected them. According to Ronen Bergman, a reporter for Yedioth Ahronoth and the New York Times, documents obtained from Gaza tunnels indicate 'complete military coordination among Hamas leaders inside Gaza with Ismail Haniyeh' in Qatar, and shortly after the October 7 attack, the committee of heads of Israeli intelligence services approved a list of figures to be killed, with Haniyeh's name at the top. The report added that the assassination carried out with 'high precision' in Tehran led to 'unprecedented panic' among senior officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and Ismail Qaani, the commander of the Quds Force, disappeared from public view for three weeks, indicating that 'the entire regime was in panic.' This report, besides mentioning the 'Ansar al-Mahdi' unit, referred to factors within the extremist group Hamas that might be potential collaborators with Mossad for planting the bomb but did not provide further details. Hamas has a permanent representative office in Tehran. Mossad has a history of employing senior officials of enemy groups. Hezbollah in Lebanon confirmed that one of Hassan Nasrallah's close guards had been an Israeli agent for a long time over the past decade. Channel 12 added that besides the serious blow that Haniyeh's killing in Tehran dealt to Hamas's leadership, this event has 'fostered deep suspicion among Iran's high-ranking officials and has permanently worried them that they have spies among themselves,' conveying the message that after the October 7 attack, 'there is no safe place for the planners and executors of the massacre of the Israeli people, even in the heart of Tehran.' According to this network, Ali Khamenei ordered a 'blood vengeance' for Haniyeh's killing during a meeting with members of the Supreme National Security Council. However, the Revolutionary Guards combined their response to Haniyeh's killing with revenge for the deaths of Hassan Nasrallah and Abbas Nilforushan, the commander of the Quds Force in Lebanon and Syria, who was killed alongside Nasrallah. The Revolutionary Guards have not responded to the Israeli television report. Reports from Western and regional media indicated that following the explosion of Hezbollah pagers in Lebanon, the Revolutionary Guards began extensive investigations of their forces. Mahmoud Alavi, the former Minister of Intelligence, stated last month that Iranian intelligence agencies are still unaware of the factors and methods behind the killings of nuclear scientists and the abduction of nuclear documents, and the factors behind the killing of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, the 'father of Iran's nuclear program,' despite being identified, 'were always half an hour ahead of Iranian intelligence agencies' and ultimately managed to escape.