Members of the terrorist Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Iranian lawmakers said on Sunday “infiltration” of Iranian security did not play a role in the elimination of Hamas “political” chief Ismail Haniyeh – contradicting a New York Times report claiming Haniyeh was killed by a bomb hidden in his room.
Haniyeh, who lived a life of luxury in Qatar securing financing and political support for the genocidal terrorist organization Hamas, died in an explosion on July 31 while visiting Iran for the inauguration of President Masoud Pezeshkian. Both Pezeshkian and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei were seen embracing Haniyeh at the inaugural ceremonies hours before Iranian authorities confirmed his death.
Iran is the world’s premier state sponsor of terrorism and a key financier for Hamas, as well as other Palestinian terrorist groups such as Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). The U.S. State Department estimates that Iran spends $100 million a year funding Hamas and PIJ, among other jihadist outfits engaging in genocidal activities against Israel.
While no individual or group has taken responsibility for the explosion that killed Haniyeh, Iranian authorities immediately blamed the Israeli government and claimed the United States abetted the alleged attack. Israel declared war on Hamas in October 2023 after Hamas terrorists executed an unprecedented siege of the country, killing 1,200, abducting hundreds of others, and engaging in torture, infanticide, gang rape, and other atrocities.
The U.S. government has denied involvement in Haniyeh’s killing or prior knowledge that Israel, or any other entity, was planning to assassinated him. Leftist American President Joe Biden lamented the terrorist’s death, expressing irritation with Israel for not accepting a ceasefire negotiation with Hamas (Hamas has repeatedly refused reasonable terms for an end to Israeli self-defense operations in Gaza).
“It is not helpful,” Biden said of the eradication of Haniyeh on Thursday.
WATCH: Biden Says Killing of Hamas Leader “Has Not Helped”
C-SPANWith little confirmed information on Haniyeh’s killing, the New York Times published an article on Thursday citing eight anonymous sources, all Mideast or American “officials,” who said that the explosion that eliminated Haniyeh was not the product of an airstrike.
“Ismail Haniyeh, a top leader of Hamas, was assassinated on Wednesday by an explosive device covertly smuggled into the Tehran guesthouse where he was staying,” the Times claimed. “The bomb had been hidden approximately two months ago in the guesthouse, according to five of the Middle Eastern officials.”
The report, if true, is damning of the competence of the IRGC, which is reportedly in charge of the security of terror leaders when visiting Iran.
Iranian lawmaker Ebrahim Rezaei, speaking for the parliamentary National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, denied the New York Times claim on Sunday, insisting that “no infiltration” took place according to initial investigations by the IRGC.
“Rezaei, quoting a deputy of the IRGC Quds Force, said that the assassination was not the result of infiltration, and that appropriate measures are underway,” the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported. Rezaei did not address the Times reported directly.
The Emirati newspaper The National noted that Iranian media also published anonymous statements from IRGC officials who specifically rejected the Times report as “riddled with lies.” Hamas’s operating theory is that a “short-range missile” hit the building where Haniyeh was staying, The National reported; the IRGC issued a statement supporting this claim, identifying the projectile as a “missile with a 7kg warhead.”
Not every Iranian official has dismissed the possibility of a security breach in the incident. Assistant head of the judiciary Sadeq Rahimi reportedly said this weekend that court authorities are investigating the possiblity of covert agents being involved.
“There is no doubt that the Zionist entity committed the crime, but investigations are underway to find out whether Israel used infiltrators, agents or committed the crime directly,” the British Arabic newspaper Asharq Al Awsat quoted Rahimi as saying.
The newspaper added that Iranian authorities arrested “all members of the hotel staff” working where Haniyeh was saying and “confiscated all electronic devices, including personal phones.”
The Iranian dissident outlet Iran International reported on Monday that the Haniyeh assassination has prompted significant alarm and discord within the Iranian government despite the IRGC repeatedly insisting that its security on the ground could not have prevented the attack, as it was an airstrike. Iran International counted “a dozen or so commentators” demanding evidence that “infiltration” was not a factor.
“The most important scenario to consider regarding the assassination of Haniyeh is the scenario of infiltration,” member of Parliament Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh said in a recent interview, according to an Iran International translation. “This issue needs to be carefully analyzed and evaluated. I hope that the scenarios being presented by some experts on state television and in certain radical media outlets are not being used as an excuse to avoid accountability.”
Iran has not provided public evidence at press time, such as security footage, showing a projectile hitting the residence in question. Unverified social media posts have claimed to show the building in question with one of its corners hollowed out, allegedly where Haniyeh was saying. The incident reported targeted Haniyeh precisely enough that only one other death, that of his bodyguard, has been reported.
Follow Frances Martel on Facebook and Twitter.
