Hamas has confirmed the assassination of its top political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in Iran. According to Iranian state media, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards reported that Haniyeh and one of his bodyguards were “assassinated” in Tehran at around 2 am local time.
In a statement, Hamas condemned the attack, describing it as a “treacherous Zionist raid on his residence in Tehran.” Senior Hamas official Moussa Abu Marzouk, speaking on Hamas-run Al-Aqsa TV, labeled the assassination a “cowardly act that will not go unpunished.”
Haniyeh was in Iran to attend the swearing-in ceremony for the country’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian. The Revolutionary Guards mentioned that the cause of death is under investigation and will be announced soon. Hamas later specified that Haniyeh was killed in an airstrike, blaming Israel for the attack.
Ismail Haniyeh left the Gaza Strip in 2019 and had been living in exile in Qatar since then. His assassination marks a significant escalation in the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Follow live updates on the Israel-Hamas war and the ongoing investigation into Haniyeh’s assassination.
