Iran International
Shaken by the embarrassment of Ismail Haniyeh's assassination in Tehran, top Iranian officials are issuing threats of harsh retaliation against Israel, attempting to put a brave face on a monumental security failure.
Blaming Israel, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei stated that he considers it a “duty to seek justice for him, who was martyred within the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) issued a statement attributing the attack to "the Zionist regime" and declared that this "crime" would be met with a "harsh and painful response" from the Resistance Front, particularly from Iran.
Even the ostensibly 'moderate' Pezeshkian adopted a harsh tone, vowing that the Islamic Republic would defend its territorial "integrity, dignity, honor, and pride," and promising to make the "terrorist occupiers" regret their actions.
The Iranian foreign ministry released a statement accusing the US of being an "accomplice and supporter of Israel in the killing of Ismail Haniyeh," and indicated that the Islamic Republic considers an "appropriate response" to this action. Iran’s former acting foreign minister, Ali Bagheri-Kani, stated that Iran has the right to respond to the assassination of Haniyeh, describing the attack as a "cowardly act" and a “breach of international law and the UN Charter.” Senior Iranian diplomats also vowed significant retaliatory actions.
Iran’s UN Mission posted on X, stating, “The response to an assassination will indeed be special operations—harder and intended to instill deep regret in the perpetrator.” Mojtaba Amani, Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon, also stated that “Iran, in return, will not allow this region to be prey to the joint US and Israeli administrations.”
The only official adopting a somewhat more measured tone was First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref, who refrained from mentioning any retaliation and stated, “The high power of the establishment will not be affected by these mischievous actions.”
Aref also remarked that the attack aimed to create a new crisis in the region and complicate Iran's regional and international relations, particularly at the onset of the new administration's term.
One could argue that Aref has a point, as the attack and Iran's vow of retaliation for the Hamas leader's assassination cast doubt on the portrayal of the establishment as having shifted to a more 'moderate' direction.
Although chants of “Death to Israel” and “Death to America,” alongside calls for “wiping Israel off the map,” remain central to the Islamic Republic’s political discourse, officials had hinted at a strategy shift under new president Masoud Pezeshkian. In early July, Iran's former Acting Foreign Minister, Ali Bagheri-Kani, addressed the United Nations Security Council in New York, emphasizing Pezeshkian's foreign policy aimed at "opening new horizons" to foster "friendly relations with other nations based on dialogue, cooperation, equality, and mutual respect."
Despite these diplomatic assertions, Iran has continued to publicly prioritize and defend its support for sponsored militias, revealing a fundamental contradiction. While the West accuses Iran of sponsoring terrorism, thereby hindering mutual dialogue, Iran remains steadfast in its stance.
When asked whether Pezeshkian’s election would alter the US negotiating position, White House spokesman John Kirby unequivocally responded, "No," citing Iran's continued support for militant groups. “They’re still supporting terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah. They’re still supporting the Houthis as the Houthis attack ships in the Red Sea. They’re still attacking shipping as well,” Kirby stated at a press conference. “So no, no.”
The presence of militia leaders, including Hamas' Political Bureau Head Ismail Haniyeh, Islamic Jihad Secretary-General Ziyad al-Nakhalah, and Yemeni Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdul-Salam, at Pezeshkian's inauguration on Tuesday in parliament, starkly underscores Tehran's true priorities.
Haniyeh's killing early on Wednesday suggested that sponsoring regional militias carries significant consequences, and while seeking the removal of sanctions, exposes inherent contradictions, underscoring the impossibility of having one's cake and eating it too.
These attacks became more frequent after July 2020, when a massive explosion occurred at the Natanz uranium enrichment site in central Iran, destroying one of the buildings. In November of that year, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, a key figure in Iran’s nuclear program, was assassinated in a roadside attack near Tehran. Western and Israeli intelligence had long suspected Fakhrizadeh of being the architect of Iran’s covert nuclear weapons program.
Fakhrizadeh’s elimination rattled most echelons of the Iranian government, with different agencies subtly blaming one another for shortcomings that had led to the incident. It strengthened existing concerns that Israel had a strong network within Iran capable of using sophisticated weapons, having detailed information about the movement of key targets, and could pull off a complicated assassination and disappear without a trace.
However, spectacular attacks did not end with the killing of the top nuclear operative.
Since Fakhrizadeh’s assassination, which reportedly involved a high-tech, remote-operated machine gun, numerous small and large-scale attacks have continued to target various sites. While Israel has never acknowledged its involvement, it is widely believed that many incidents at military and industrial sites were the result of Israeli sabotage or drone attacks.
This latest attack occurred days after Iran’s Minister of Intelligence hailed the "dismantling of Mossad's infiltration network" as a pivotal achievement of former president Ebrahim Raisi's administration.
Esmail Khatib remarked last week, "Mossad's infiltration network had been assassinating our scientific figures and sabotaging critical centers. Under the thirteenth administration, this network and its access and capabilities have been eliminated."
Despite the persistent denials by Iranian officials, the series of targeted killings and sabotage reached such a critical point in 2021 that a former Minister of Intelligence, Ali Younesi, had expressed grave concern over the infiltration of Israel's intelligence agency, Mossad, into various sectors of the country, warning that officials should be "worried for their lives."
Younesi stated in 2021 that over the past "10, 15, or 20 years," while the country has been purged of all groups he labeled as "terrorist," there has been a significant failure in addressing the infiltration by foreign intelligence services, particularly those of Israel.
He emphasized that in the "last ten years, Mossad's infiltration into various sectors of the country is so extensive that all officials of the Islamic Republic should be worried for their lives."
In April 2021, another explosion at Natanz, this time in an underground part of the sprawling installation, hit the power supply for centrifuges and caused extensive damage that reportedly needed months of repairs. Some reports said that thousands of uranium enriching machines, called centrifuges, were destroyed.
Coupled with physical attacks, Israel allegedly launched many cyberattacks that created massive disruptions in Iran. In October 2021 a cyberattack knocked out a government database that issues fuel subsidized fuel cards to the population.
In May 2022, Revolutionary Guard intelligence operative Colonel Hassan Khodaei was shot five times outside of his home in Tehran. In May and June, following the assassination, two scientists reportedly died from poison in their food. Ayoub Entezari, an aerospace engineer, worked on missile turbines for a military research center in Yazd, central Iran.
Suicide drones were used to attack a military facility in Isfahan on January 28, 2023. Senior intelligence sources told Western media and that Israel’s Mossad was involved in the attack. It was reported that the site was an advanced weapon-production facility.
What is embarrassing and dangerous for the Iranian regime is the apparent extensive infiltration of Israeli networks in Iran. Ismail Haniyeh’s targeted killing on July 31 will go down in history as one of the most remarkable military-intelligence coups by Israel in the past eight decades.
Though details remain scarce, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) early on confirmed that Haniyeh, the chief political leader of the terror group, was targeted at a residence in the capital, along with an Iranian bodyguard. Hamas has corroborated the killing, denouncing it as a “treacherous Zionist raid”.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States was neither involved in nor made aware of the assassination of the Hamas leader, refusing to respond directly to the news.
Blinken emphasized the urgent need for a ceasefire in the Gaza war, noting its critical importance for the hostages and Palestinian civilians suffering. He stressed the broader regional implications of the conflict and reaffirmed Washington’s efforts to stabilize Gaza and prevent further escalation.
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell also refrained from commenting directly on the reported assassination, but instead emphasized the urgent need to de-escalate tensions to prevent a wider conflict that could impact the entire region and beyond.
The comments follow Israel's claim on Tuesday of having eliminated a Hezbollah commander allegedly responsible for a deadly attack in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Israel has not officially confirmed its role in the assassination of the Hamas leader.
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Condemnations were quickly issued by Iran's allies Russia and China. Moscow has urged all parties to avoid actions that could escalate into a major conflict, while Beijing's foreign ministry warned that the incident might lead to further regional instability.
As Iran vowed to retaliate against Israel over the killing, some politicians in the Western world rejoiced over the death of the Hamas leader.
British Conservative parliamentarian Tom Tugendhat responded to a social media post from Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who vowed revenge for the killing. Tugendhat condemned Tehran as an "evil regime" that "murders hundreds of thousands of innocents at home and abroad and mourns only when their executioners are killed."
Far-right Dutch politician Geert Wilders openly welcomed the assassination, posting on X, “Good riddance!!” In a separate message, he warned Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and Hezbollah’s Hassan Nasrallah, stating, “They will not be too happy now and probably not sleep too well either.”
Regional nations condemn, blame Israel
Numerous Middle Eastern nations have responded to the reported assassination, with many attributing the attack to Israel and warning of heightened regional tensions.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the assassination as a “despicable act” intended to undermine the Palestinian cause. He stated that “Zionist cruelty will never accomplish its objectives” and reiterated Turkey’s support for a sovereign Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital. Haniyeh was reportedly scheduled to address Turkey’s parliament in August.
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry, blaming Israel for the attack, characterized it as a dangerous escalation that jeopardizes peace efforts in an already volatile region.
Israel had previously vowed to target Haniyeh and other Hamas leaders in response to the terror group's October 7 attack on Israel, which resulted in 1,200 deaths and approximately 250 hostages.
Qatar also condemned the assassination as a “heinous crime and serious escalation,” with its foreign ministry warning that it, along with “Israel’s reckless behavior,” will lead to regional chaos and “undermine peace prospects.” Qatar, which had hosted Haniyeh and plays a crucial role in cease-fire talks between Israel and Hamas over the war in Gaza, criticized the act for its potential destabilizing effects.
Haniyeh, who had led Hamas politically since 2017, had been living in exile in Qatar.
Experts say Iran's security vulnerabilities exploited by Israel
The widely believed Israeli operation would not be the first of its kind. As news of Haniyeh’s death circulated, experts and observers commented on the nature and sophistication of the operation on Iranian soil, offering analysis about how Iran’s security apparatus was so weak that this was able to happen.
Former Australian hostage Kylie Moore-Gilbert, who had been held in Iran for over two years, recently penned an article, arguing that Iranian security agencies have struggled to counter Israeli activities within their country. She attributed this difficulty to the authoritarian nature of the state, which she says values loyalty over skill, resulting in less effective counterintelligence and making it easier for external actors to operate within Iran.
Israel, Moore-Gilbert wrote, has leveraged Tehran’s governance failures and economic issues by likely offering financial rewards or residency to collaborators – with Iran’s internal weaknesses having turned into a major vulnerability.
“Having shown itself over the decades to be impervious to ideological moderation or reform from within, it has become so hated that its own people—its biggest victims—are willing to embrace the possibility that the enemy of their enemy is their friend," she wrote.
Iran expert Karim Sadjadpour took to X, citing Moore-Gilbert’s article, asserting that “Israel has managed to conduct numerous high-level assassinations inside Iran in part due to the Islamic Republic's profound unpopularity and incompetence.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.