Some Tehran media and politicians continue to demand answers over security lapses that allowed the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in a government guesthouse in Tehran last week.
While many Iranian officials and politicians call for a strong retaliation against Israel for Haniyeh’s brazen killing by an explosive projectile while he was sleeping, a few insiders insist that the priority should be to understand how such an operation was possible.
One of these voices is an influential commentator and former senior lawmaker Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh who spoke to Etemad newspaper.
"The most important scenario to consider regarding the assassination of Haniyeh is the scenario of infiltration. 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," Falahatpisheh said.
He is one of a dozen or so commentators allowed to often speak out on government-controlled media about sensitive issues. He often voices opinions critical of some government policies, including its foreign policy.
Iranian security and intelligence officials remained largely silent in the first three days after the assassination about the exact circumstances and what kind of weapon was used. This led to plenty of speculation both in the Iranian and foreign media. The New York Times went as far as claiming that a bomb placed in the guesthouse two month earlier killed Haniyeh, not any projectile fired from the air or the ground.
Finally, on Saturday, the Revolutionary Guard issued a statement rejecting this scenario and announcing that Haniyeh was killed by a small and short range projectile fired from the vicinity of the compound.
However, criticism of security and intelligence agencies continue. Javad Emam, a politician from the Reform Front in a tweet asked President Pezeshkian to act. "The assassination and martyrdom of Ismail Haniyeh on Iranian soil was a warning about the incompetence and inefficiency of certain parts of the country's intelligence and security apparatus."
Emam urged Pezeshkian to make personnel and other changes.
"First, take action to reorganize the intelligence and security forces, and if necessary, reselect them.
Second, where possible, and not in a rushed manner, work towards merging parallel intelligence agencies to prevent further costs to the country due to lack of coordination and the actions of inexperienced personnel.
Third, by establishing truth-finding committees and punishing those at fault, and following the example of several important national cases, work to restore a sense of security in society,” he argued.
Falahatpisheh, in turn, mocked statements by officials who periodically claim they have demolished enemy networks within the country. One such statement by the intelligence minister was made just days before the Haniyeh incident.
"A while ago, one of the officials openly stated that they had uncovered and neutralized all areas of Zionist infiltration in the country. However, incidents like the assassination of Martyr Haniyeh show that there are still specific security vulnerabilities that need to be addressed urgently. Addressing these gaps and deficiencies should be one of the key priorities for the new administration," the former lawmaker stated.
Despite these calls for a serious investigation and holding security officials responsible for the failure to protect a high-level foreign guest, so far there is no sign of action. What occupies most headlines in Iran is the issue of a retaliatory attack against Israel.
