Middle East | Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran, Iran says

Tehran: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran, Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said early Wednesday.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the assassination, but suspicion fell on Israel, which has vowed to kill Haniyeh and other leaders of Hamas over the group’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw some 250 others taken hostage.

Haniyeh was in Tehran to attend Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s swearing-in ceremony on Tuesday. Iran gave no details on how Haniyeh was killed, and the Guard said the attack was under investigation.

Haniyeh left the Gaza Strip in 2019 and had lived in exile in Qatar. The top Hamas leader in Gaza is Yehya Sinwar, who masterminded the Oct. 7 attack sparked the latest Israel-Hamas war.

The apparent assassination comes at a precarious time, as United States President Joe Biden’s administration has tried to push Hamas and Israel to agree to at least a temporary cease-fire and hostage release deal.

Here’s the latest:

Apparent assassination of Hamas leader comes at a precarious time for Biden    WASHINGTON — The apparent assassination comes at a precarious time, as United States President Joe Biden’s administration has tried to push Hamas and Israel to agree to at least a temporary cease-fire and hostage release deal.

CIA Director Bill Burns was in Rome on Sunday to meet with senior officials from Israel, Qatar and Egypt in the latest round of talks. Separately, Brett McGurk, the White House Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa, is in the region for talks with U.S. Partners.

There was no immediate reaction to the reports of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh’s assassination from the White House.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran, Iran says

TEHRAN, Iran — Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran, Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said early Wednesday.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the assassination but suspicion immediately fell on Israel, which has vowed to kill Haniyeh and other leaders of Hamas over the group’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw some 250 others taken hostage.

Haniyeh was in Tehran to attend Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s swearing-in ceremony on Tuesday. Iran gave no details on how Haniyeh was killed, and the Guard said the attack was under investigation.

Haniyeh left the Gaza Strip in 2019 and had lived in exile in Qatar. The top Hamas leader in Gaza is Yehya Sinwar, who masterminded the Oct. 7 attack.

Analysts on Iranian state television immediately began blaming Israel for the attack.

Israel itself did not immediately comment but it often doesn’t when it comes to assassinations carried out by their Mossad intelligence agency.