How was the assassination of Haniyeh carried out? Hamas's Iran representative responds

While the New York Times in the US claimed that Ismail Haniyeh was killed by the detonation of a bomb secretly planted in his residence months ago, Hamas's representative in Iran, Khaled al-Qaddumi, made different statements regarding the matter.

"MOST LIKELY HIT BY A MISSILE OR PROJECTILE"

In his statement, Qaddumi said, "(Considering that the walls and ceiling of the room where the attack took place were destroyed as a result of the explosion), it is highly likely that the location was hit by a missile or projectile from the outside. Of course, this will be determined by technical reports."

Pointing out that there has been no official statement from the relevant institutions in Iran so far regarding how Haniyeh was killed, Qaddumi said that the technical team is working intensively to uncover the facts but has not yet reached a new conclusion.

Qaddumi stated, "Haniyeh's blood has not yet dried. It has been a very short time since he was laid to rest. Therefore, it is too early for a scientific report to be issued on this matter. We are also waiting for our brothers in Iran to see what they will say."

Speaking about Haniyeh's visit to Tehran and the place where he stayed, Qaddumi said, "We returned from the inauguration ceremony of the new Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. After the ceremony, Haniyeh and those who attended the ceremony from the Iranian Islamic Consultative Assembly were invited to dinner with the President. Haniyeh then went to the residence where he frequently stayed when he came to Tehran."

Noting that the place in question is a venue where high-level guests such as prime ministers and foreign ministers are hosted, Qaddumi said, "Haniyeh stayed on the 4th floor. There were others on that floor as well, so it was not allocated solely to Haniyeh. This was a state-owned facility where we were hosted."

Questioning the accuracy of the New York Times' claims regarding the assassination, Qaddumi continued his words as follows:

"Did the New York Times reporter plant that bomb himself, or do they have official and photographic reports about the targeted location? This is an irrational claim and is not based on any scientific data. The story they put forward is complete nonsense. The martyr (Haniyeh) was also hosted in the same place when the former Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi died. Why did the assassination happen now? Is it because the green light from the US came now, or because they were careful not to kill him back then?"

Qaddumi assessed that the current focus should be on how to hold Israel accountable at the international level and how to unite "against the endless fanaticism of the Zionist entity backed by the US."

In its report on August 1, the New York Times claimed that the bomb that caused Haniyeh's death was secretly smuggled into the residence, which is protected by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and hosts high-level guests, and placed in the room where Haniyeh was staying about two months ago. It claimed that the bomb was detonated by remote control after it was confirmed that Haniyeh was in the room around 02:00 at night.

HANIYEH ASSASSINATION

Haniyeh was in Tehran to attend the inauguration ceremony of the new Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps announced in a statement early on July 31 that an attack had been carried out on the residence where Haniyeh was staying in Tehran.

While Iran and the Hamas movement hold Israel responsible for the assassination, Israeli officials have avoided making statements regarding the incident.

Haniyeh was elected as the head of the Hamas Political Bureau by the Hamas Shura Council on May 6, 2017, replacing Khaled Mashal.