Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has accused Israel of killing Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh using a “short-range projectile” fired from outside his residence in Tehran.
The paramilitary organisation said the projectile weighed about 7kg (16lbs) and caused a “strong blast”, killing Haniyeh and his bodyguard. The Hamas leader had been visiting the Iranian capital for the inauguration of President Massoud Pezeshkian.
Officials also accused the US of supporting in the operation. Israel has not commented on Haniyeh’s death.
The IRGC account is at odds with reports in Western media, which have suggested that explosives were planted in Haniyeh’s Tehran residence by Israeli operatives.
The failures surrounding Haniyeh’s death, especially on a day marked by intense security, have caused embarrassment for Iran and the IRGC.
Dozens of IRGC officers have been arrested or dismissed in the days since Haniyeh’s death, the New York Times reported on Saturday.
The paper said the organisation’s intelligence agency had taken over the investigation. Staff members at Haniyeh’s guesthouse have been interrogated and their phones and other electronics have been seized, it added.
Meanwhile, the security details of Iranian politicians have been overhauled. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei led prayers for Haniyeh on Thursday, but was whisked away soon after the ceremony by his security detail.
The IRGC’s statement on Saturday came after Britain’s Daily Telegraph said Haniyeh was killed by bombs planted in his room by agents of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency
Citing Iranian officials, the paper said two Mossad agents had entered the guesthouse and planted explosives in three rooms. The Iranians, who had viewed CCTV footage of the operatives, said the two subsequently left the country before detonating the bombs from outside Iran.
The New York Times also reported that Haniyeh was killed by explosives detonated in his room, saying they could have been planted up to two months earlier. The BBC has not been able to verify these claims.
But Hamas officials told the BBC earlier this week that Haniyeh had stayed at the same guesthouse before. He had made up to 15 visits to Iran since becoming the head of the political bureau in 2017.
The papers’ reports would represent an even bigger failure for the IRGC, who have long controlled internal security in the country. Experts also said it would highlight the degree to which Mossad can operate with impunity in Iran.
Regardless of the manner of Haniyeh’s death, both Iran and Hamas have vowed to retaliate.
The IRGC said on Saturday that Israel would receive “a severe punishment at the appropriate time, place and manner”.
After an Israeli operation killed IRGC Brig Gen Mohammad Reza Zahedi in Damascus earlier this year, Iran fired 170 drones, 30 cruise missiles and at least 110 ballistic missiles towards Israel.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned Israelis that “challenging days lie ahead… We have heard threats from all sides. We are prepared for any scenario”.
His ministers were sent home this weekend with satellite phones in case of an attack on the country’s communication infrastructure.
Despite the government’s warnings, the mood appeared relaxed on Tel Aviv’s seafront, with bronzed bodies lazing under beach umbrellas.
But few are in any doubt that the Middle East stands perilously close to full-scale war.
Israel is on high alert and several international airlines have suspended flights to the country.
The US has also deployed additional warships and fighter jets to the Middle East to help defend Israel from possible attacks by Iran and its proxies, the Pentagon said.
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy has warned that the risk that “the situation on the ground could deteriorate rapidly is rising”.
Meanwhile, Israel said an airstrike it conducted in the occupied West Bank killed a Hamas commander and four senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad fighters on Saturday.
The Israeli military said the airstrike hit a vehicle as the men were on the way to carry out an attack.
