New Details Revealed About Assassination Attempt on Ismail Haniyeh

iran - Israeli media reveals new details about the assassination attempt on Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran.

Israel's Kanal 12 has reported the details of the recent assassination attempt on Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran. According to the report, on July 31, agents placed a homemade explosive near Haniyeh's bed in the room where he was staying in Tehran for the swearing-in ceremony of President-elect Ebrahim Raisi. However, as the explosive was about to detonate, Haniyeh noticed that the air conditioner was faulty and left the room. The agents mistakenly thought Haniyeh would change rooms, but the air conditioner got fixed and Haniyeh returned.

The decision to eliminate Haniyeh was made shortly after October 7. Killing Haniyeh in Qatar, where he resides, would risk disrupting the hostage negotiations that Doha has been mediating since the beginning of the conflict. Israel limited its options on where to kill Haniyeh to Turkey, Moscow, and Tehran, as these were the three countries the Hamas leader had visited. Iran was chosen due to fears of strong reactions from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Haniyeh's consistent stays at the same guesthouse in Tehran made the assassination plan easier. Hamas, however, claimed in a statement released yesterday that Haniyeh was killed not by the bomb placed in his room, but by a guided missile.