Iran’s Revolutionary Guards announced on Saturday that Ismail Haniyeh, leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, was killed in Tehran by a short-range projectile with a warhead of about 7 kg. The Guards vowed severe revenge for his assassination.
Wednesday’s killing has heightened fears of a direct conflict between Tehran and its arch-enemy Israel, amid ongoing tensions in the region, including Israel’s war in Gaza and escalating violence in Lebanon.
The Revolutionary Guards promised severe retribution at an “appropriate time, place, and manner,” attributing the attack to the “terrorist Zionist regime” of Israel. Both Iran and Hamas have accused Israel of carrying out the strike that killed Haniyeh just hours after he attended the inauguration of Iran’s new president.
Israeli officials have not claimed responsibility for the attack. The Revolutionary Guards also accused the “criminal U.S. government” of supporting the strike, which Iranian media reported occurred in a northern suburb of Tehran.
Haniyeh was buried on Friday in Qatar, where he was based.
