‘We were not aware of or involved in’ Haniyeh assassination – US

Following the Palestinian leader’s death, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei stated, "The criminal and terrorist Zionist regime, with this action, has paved the way for severe punishment for itself. We consider it our duty to seek justice for him, who was martyred within the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran."

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) issued a statement blaming “the Zionist regime” for the attack. They declared that this "crime" would be met with a "harsh and painful response" from the Resistance Front, particularly from Iran.

Early indications suggest that Haniyeh and his bodyguard died when a rocket or drone struck the residence where they were staying, raising the possibility of Israeli infiltration. This has inevitably turned attention towards Israel, which had vowed to hunt down and punish all Hamas leaders following the brutal attacks of October 7, resulting in the deaths of approximately 1,200 Israelis and foreigners.

Israel typically refrains from commenting on its operations abroad. However, this attack might mirror the pattern of multiple Israeli operations, the latest being targeting Iranian air defenses around its nuclear facility in Natanz on April 19.

Observers assert that this incident exposes significant vulnerabilities within the Islamic Republic's security apparatus. The assassination occurred on a day designated for heightened security measures due to the inauguration of President Masoud Pezeshkian which took place the day before, underscoring a severe breach. Pezeshkian vowed that the Islamic Republic would defend its territorial “integrity, dignity, honor, and pride,” promising to make the "terrorist occupiers" regret their actions. "Yesterday, I raised his victorious hand, and today, I have to carry him on my shoulders for his funeral," Pezeshkian added.

Members of Iran’s Parliament, in their denunciation of the assassination, emphasized that “the Zionist regime is increasingly mired in the depths of its demise with each passing day,” repeating typical rhetoric of Islamic officials in Iran.

First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref stated that the assassination was driven by "sinister objectives" aimed at creating a new crisis in the region and complicating Iran's regional and international relations, particularly at the onset of the new administration's term.

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf announced on his X account that "Iran and the Resistance Front will not disregard the blood of Ismail Haniyeh."

Former Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif stated on X, "The cowardly assassination of our guest will only strengthen our resolve to defend our territory and support the Palestinian people's fight for their freedom."

The Iranian currency immediately lost value, trading at more than 600,000 rials per one US dollar in the wake of the assassination. For a relatively long time the rial was hovering around 570,000 to 590,000 per dollar.

Many Iranians on social media expressed views highlighting the apparent weakness of the Islamic government in protecting their own high-level foreign guets.

The government of Pakistan condemned the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, criticizing Israel's "adventurism in the region" and warning about the risk of further escalation.

In a statement, Pakistan's foreign ministry expressed "serious concern" over the increasing Israeli activities in the region, describing them as a "dangerous escalation in an already volatile region" that undermines peace efforts.

The ministry also censured the timing of what it called a "reckless act," noting that it coincided with the swearing-in of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

Also on Wednesday, Egypt condemned the recent strikes that targeted Hezbollah military leader Fuad Shukr in Beirut and Haniyeh in Tehran, describing them as a "dangerous escalation" that could destabilize the region.

The Egyptian foreign ministry stated that these actions undermine "the strenuous efforts made by Egypt and its partners to stop the war in the Gaza Strip" and "indicate the absence of Israeli political will to calm the situation."

Cairo has called on the United Nations Security Council to intervene to "prevent the security situation in the region from spiraling out of control."

Mohammad Javad Zarif, the former Iranian foreign minister, accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of driving the region and the world “to the brink of catastrophe.”

In a statement on X, Zarif criticized the international community for “silently watching Israel's genocide, and repeated acts of international terrorism and aggression.”

He added that Netanyahu's survival depends on "death and destruction."

“The cowardly assassination of our guest will only strengthen our resolve to defend our territory and support the Palestinian people's fight for their freedom.”

Zarif urged the US and EU to stop “shielding Netanyahu's madness” and to join the world to end his "suicidal chaos."

Russia stated on Wednesday that the Middle East is teetering on the brink of a major war, with key players escalating tensions.

"The region is currently balancing on the brink of a global conflict," said Andrei Nastasin, deputy spokesman for the Russian foreign ministry. "The parties continue to raise the stakes."

These attacks became more frequent after July 2020, when a massive explosion occurred at the Natanz uranium enrichment site in central Iran, destroying one of the buildings. In November of that year, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, a key figure in Iran’s nuclear program, was assassinated in a roadside attack near Tehran. Western and Israeli intelligence had long suspected Fakhrizadeh of being the architect of Iran’s covert nuclear weapons program.

Fakhrizadeh’s elimination rattled most echelons of the Iranian government, with different agencies subtly blaming one another for shortcomings that had led to the incident. It strengthened existing concerns that Israel had a strong network within Iran capable of using sophisticated weapons, having detailed information about the movement of key targets, and could pull off a complicated assassination and disappear without a trace.

However, spectacular attacks did not end with the killing of the top nuclear operative.

Since Fakhrizadeh’s assassination, which reportedly involved a high-tech, remote-operated machine gun, numerous small and large-scale attacks have continued to target various sites. While Israel has never acknowledged its involvement, it is widely believed that many incidents at military and industrial sites were the result of Israeli sabotage or drone attacks.

This latest attack occurred days after Iran’s Minister of Intelligence hailed the "dismantling of Mossad's infiltration network" as a pivotal achievement of former president Ebrahim Raisi's administration.

Esmail Khatib remarked last week, "Mossad's infiltration network had been assassinating our scientific figures and sabotaging critical centers. Under the thirteenth administration, this network and its access and capabilities have been eliminated."

Despite the persistent denials by Iranian officials, the series of targeted killings and sabotage reached such a critical point in 2021 that a former Minister of Intelligence, Ali Younesi, had expressed grave concern over the infiltration of Israel's intelligence agency, Mossad, into various sectors of the country, warning that officials should be "worried for their lives."

Younesi stated in 2021 that over the past "10, 15, or 20 years," while the country has been purged of all groups he labeled as "terrorist," there has been a significant failure in addressing the infiltration by foreign intelligence services, particularly those of Israel.

He emphasized that in the "last ten years, Mossad's infiltration into various sectors of the country is so extensive that all officials of the Islamic Republic should be worried for their lives."

In April 2021, another explosion at Natanz, this time in an underground part of the sprawling installation, hit the power supply for centrifuges and caused extensive damage that reportedly needed months of repairs. Some reports said that thousands of uranium enriching machines, called centrifuges, were destroyed.

Coupled with physical attacks, Israel allegedly launched many cyberattacks that created massive disruptions in Iran. In October 2021 a cyberattack knocked out a government database that issues fuel subsidized fuel cards to the population.

In May 2022, Revolutionary Guard intelligence operative Colonel Hassan Khodaei was shot five times outside of his home in Tehran. In May and June, following the assassination, two scientists reportedly died from poison in their food. Ayoub Entezari, an aerospace engineer, worked on missile turbines for a military research center in Yazd, central Iran.

Suicide drones were used to attack a military facility in Isfahan on January 28, 2023. Senior intelligence sources told Western media and that Israel’s Mossad was involved in the attack. It was reported that the site was an advanced weapon-production facility.

What is embarrassing and dangerous for the Iranian regime is the apparent extensive infiltration of Israeli networks in Iran. Ismail Haniyeh’s targeted killing on July 31 will go down in history as one of the most remarkable military-intelligence coups by Israel in the past eight decades.