DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh, a billionaire who ordered murder from luxurious exile in Doha, Qatar, was reportedly killed early Wednesday in Tehran, Iran, after the presidential inauguration.
Haniyeh was in Tehran for the inauguration of new president Masoud Pezeshkian and met with “Supreme Leader” Ali Khamenei, together with the leaders of other terrorist groups, such as Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Houthis.
Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh and Iran’s new president hugged and exchanged kisses following Masoud Pezeshkian’s speech in support of Palestine during his inauguration ceremony in Tehran, a video of the ceremony shows. pic.twitter.com/FUQ1ZD4UZD
— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) July 30, 2024
Multiple news sources, citing Iranian television, say that Haniyeh was killed and that Hamas confirmed the death.
Iran’s PressTV reported:
Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the political bureau of the resistance Palestinian movement Hamas, has been killed in an attack in the Iranian capital, Tehran.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced on Wednesday morning that Haniyeh and one of his bodyguards were killed when their residence was hit in Tehran.
The statement said the attack is under investigation and the results will be announced later in the day.
The New York Times confirmed the news, citing Iran’s terrorist Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps:
Ismail Haniyeh, one of the most senior Hamas leaders, was targeted and killed in Iran, according to a statement by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps on Tuesday.
Hamas accused Israel of killing Mr. Haniyeh, who led the Hamas political operations from exile in Qatar, in Tehran. Hamas made the statement on its official Telegram account.
The news came hours after Israel confirmed that it had killed Hezbollah’s second-in-command, Fuad Shukr “Sayyid Muhsan,” who was responsible for rocket attacks on Israel and the 1983 U.S. Marines barracks bombing in Beirut.
This wanted poster released by the U.S. Department of State Rewards for Justice program shows Talal Hamiyah, left, and Fu’ad Shukr. A Hezbollah official said Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2017 that multimillion dollar rewards offered by the Trump administration in return for information leading to the arrest of its operatives are part of ongoing U.S. efforts to “demonize” the group. The official was reacting on Wednesday to the State Department announcing a total of $12 million in rewards for information leading to the location, arrest or conviction of two senior leaders of the Lebanese Shiite militant group. (Rewards for Justice via AP)
Israel also killed Haniyeh’s three sons in a targeted strike in Gaza in April. It remains unclear what the strike on Haniyeh will mean for hostage negotiations, in which he played an indirect role via Egyptian and Qatari mediators.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of “”The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days,” available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of “The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency,” now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.