Assassination of “Ismail Haniyeh” in the Heart of Tehran and Reactions to His Killing
Less than a day after the release of images of “Ismail Haniyeh,” his assassination in the heart of Tehran became headline news and sparked various reactions.
On the morning of Wednesday, Mordad 10, corresponding to July 31, Ismail Haniyeh, head of the political office of the extremist Hamas group, was assassinated in Tehran along with one of his bodyguards. The United States and the European Union consider Hamas a terrorist organization, and given that suspicion for this assassination points toward Israel’s security service in retaliation for eliminating a high-ranking Hamas official, Israel has not officially accepted responsibility for the killing.
The assassination of Ismail Haniyeh occurred while Tehran had been under special security conditions in recent days due to the holding of the inauguration and swearing-in ceremony of “Masoud Pezeshkian,” Iran’s new president, and authorities had also, citing hot weather as a pretext, put the entire country on semi-closure.
The latest images released of Ismail Haniyeh showed him in the embrace of Masoud Pezeshkian, and Mr. Pezeshkian told Ismail Haniyeh during this meeting that the Islamic Republic’s support for Hamas would continue with greater strength and vigor. During his meeting with Ali Khamenei, Ismail Haniyeh stated regarding this war that it had reached a sensitive and historic phase, and Hamas forces must consolidate their heroism and victory.
Many said regarding the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh that the Islamic Republic failed to provide a secure haven for a leader who was referred to as the second figure of Hamas. A leader whom Europe and America had placed on their lists of terrorist groups, and whom Israel had been seeking to assassinate for years. According to users’ comments, aside from the assassination and elimination of Ismail Haniyeh, one of Hamas’s most important leaders, whom the Islamic Republic refers to as part of the resistance front, his killing in the heart of Tehran, especially on a day when many foreign guests were in Iran, demonstrates a security weakness of the Islamic Republic that led to the success of his assassination and that of his bodyguard, and is more important than anything else.
“Haji Sadeghi,” the Supreme Leader’s representative in the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, responding to the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, told Israel: “We in the resistance front will slap you on the battlefield in such a way that it will be harder than the slap you received at the martyrdom of the martyred Zahedi. Wait and be prepared in anxiety for the great blow of the revolutionary front.”
“Ali Akbar Raifipour” also responded to the assassination of the Hamas leader, saying: “The Zionist regime’s objectives in assassinating the martyr Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran are to undermine Dr. Pezeshkian’s government exactly one day after his inauguration ceremony and his spirited defense of the resistance, and to sabotage the process of continuing negotiations with the Americans in the new government, as well as to weaken Harris’s voting base in America. Because any increase in tensions between Israel and Iran will force Harris to provide greater support for the regime, which of course will not be advantageous for Democrats.
Israel’s other objective is to humiliate Iran in the most important sphere of its achievement in the region—security—and to avenge the Promise of Truth. Therefore, any media action whose result would serve the mentioned objectives of the Zionist enemy is a mistake, regardless of intent. Have no doubt that the same will that designed and carried out the Promise of Truth operation without any hesitation will make the best decision.”
“Ayatollah Javadi Amoli,” head of the political office of Hamas Islamic Resistance, also responded to the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, saying: “Israel is a released beast that recognizes no agreement.”
“Ansarallah Yemen” also responded to this assassination, stating: “Israel should expect a wave of revenge following the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas leader.”
“Haqiqatpour,” former commander of the Guards, responding to the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, said: “If Haniyeh had been assassinated as a resistance leader in Qatar, it would certainly be a loss and damage for all of us, but that he was assassinated in the Islamic Republic of Iran, the center of the new world of resistance, has great significance and means that an ignorant, foolish, and terrorist government has a dispute with the world of resistance and the Islamic Republic of Iran by assassinating a guest of the Islamic Republic of Iran in its capital. Therefore, our response must be decisive. The Israeli regime is engaged with the resistance, so a compound response must be given to them. As was also in the Supreme Leader’s message, it is the duty of the Islamic Republic of Iran to respond, but I believe that the response to such aggression is compound revenge.”
