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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Hamas Leader Assassinated in Tehran: Middle East Reaches Red Line Again |
| 2024-08-01 |
| Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Kirill Semenov [REGNUM] Hamas has issued a statement saying its political leader and head of the politburo, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed in a "treacherous Zionist raid on his residence in Tehran." It came less than a day after three people, including two children, were killed and 74 wounded in an Israeli strike in Beirut. The Israeli military called the attack a "targeted assassination operation" against one of the military leaders of the Lebanese Hezbollah movement, Fouad Shukr. Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic Ayatollah Ali Khamenei responded to Haniyeh's killing by saying that the "criminal and terrorist Zionist regime" would be "severely punished," adding that Iran considered it "obligatory to avenge the blood" of the Hamas leader. And President Masoud Pezeshkian warned that Iran "will defend its territorial integrity, dignity, honor and pride and will make the terrorist occupiers regret their cowardly act." The Iranian Foreign Ministry also stressed that “the blood of the slain Hamas leader will not be shed in vain.” Iran has declared three days of mourning for the death of leader Ismail Haniyeh. After a ceremony in Tehran, his body will be transferred to Doha tomorrow afternoon. He will be buried in the Qatari capital on Friday, Hamas said. At the time of writing, Israel remains officially silent about Haniyeh's murder and is "assessing the situation." Iran's IRNA news agency reported that the killing took place around 2 a.m. Wednesday local time, noting that he was being held at a special center for war veterans in Tehran. On the other hand, Iran's Pars news agency said Haniyeh's residence in an area north of the capital was attacked, adding that he was killed along with one of his bodyguards. Estimates of where the attack came from varied. The most common version initially was that an Israeli warplane had entered Iranian airspace and attacked Haniyeh's residence outside Tehran. Later, experts began to believe that the missile was launched outside the airspace of the Islamic Republic. There is a possibility that the strike was carried out from Iraqi airspace, this version seems quite plausible. If so, then the risk of retaliatory actions by the "Axis of Resistance" against the United States increases, since the actions of the Israeli air force could hardly have been uncoordinated with the Americans, who participate in controlling Iraqi airspace and have bases there. Jordan may also be among the accomplices of this action. CONSOLIDATION OF THE PALESTINIANS Haniyeh's death will not weaken Hamas. On the contrary, his place may be taken by representatives of a new generation who will not only benefit from his political experience, but also increase it by working on his mistakes. The son of the slain Hamas leader, Abdul Salam Haniyeh, said his father's assassination would only strengthen Palestinian resistance to Israel. "My father survived four assassination attempts for his patriotic mission, and today Allah has granted him the martyrdom he always dreamed of," the younger Haniyeh told Arab media. Ismail Haniyeh spent three years in an Israeli prison and was wounded in an Israeli airstrike in 2003. Haniyeh also lost many of his loved ones in the conflict with Israel. In April, three of his sons, Hazem, Amir and Mohammad, were killed when the car they were travelling in was bombed in Gaza. The attack also killed four of Haniyeh's grandchildren, three girls and a boy. More than 60 of his family members and relatives have been killed since the war began on October 7. "He was very keen to establish national unity and sought unity among all Palestinian factions, and we say that this assassination will not stop the resistance, which will fight until freedom is achieved," Abdul Salam Haniyeh added. It is possible that another incentive for the Benjamin Netanyahu regime to take this step, which is criminal from the point of view of international law, was precisely the agreement of the Palestinian factions to unite and form a government of national unity, in which Hamas and Haniyeh personally could play a significant role. The murder appears to be a kind of Israeli revenge against the Palestinians for overcoming the rejection by Tel Aviv and its Western allies of Hamas's entry into the new PLO structures. Thus, Israel failed to remove Hamas from the list of forces responsible for the future of Palestine, and it decided to destroy its leader, sending a signal to all Palestinian forces that they could share his fate. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the killing of the Hamas politburo chief, calling it a "cowardly act and a dangerous event." He called on Palestinians to "unite, be patient and steadfast in the face of the Israeli occupation." NETANYAHU DECIDED TO "TURN THE TABLE" Haniyeh's killing in the Iranian capital threatens to escalate tensions in the Middle East and could further undermine any prospects for a breakthrough in already stalled talks to end the war in Gaza. Before Haniyeh's death, Israel and Hamas were believed to be close to an agreement to suspend the nearly 10-month war in Gaza that has killed 40,000 people, mostly Palestinian civilians, and led to a growing humanitarian crisis. Haniyeh has been a key participant in months of talks brokered by Egypt, Qatar and the United States. Late last week, officials declared progress despite continuing disagreements on key issues. Then Israel began pushing new conditions that the Palestinians find unacceptable. Now, it has finally become clear that Netanyahu has taken the most escalatory scenario, hoping to shift the responsibility for leaving the negotiation process to Hamas. After the assassination of its leader, the Palestinian resistance is unlikely to find the strength to continue consultations on a truce and will most likely refuse further ceasefire negotiations. Qatar, which played a central role in the mediation, also called Haniyeh's killing "a heinous crime and a dangerous escalation." Its Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that the killing and "Israel's continued attacks on civilians in the Gaza Strip... are leading the region toward chaos." Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani, who personally brokered the ceasefire talks, questioned their chances of success after Haniyeh's killing. "How can mediation be successful if one side kills the negotiator on the other side?" the sheikh wrote on social media. "The world needs serious partners and a global position against the disregard for human life," he added. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Wednesday that the U.S. government, which also served as a mediator, would “work hard to make sure that we do everything we can to reduce tensions and resolve issues diplomatically.” But now, it appears, those efforts alone will not be enough. IRANIAN RETALIATION AND RISKS FOR THE US Haniyeh's death in Tehran, like the Beirut strike that killed Shukr, leaves Israel facing potential reactions not only from Hamas and Hezbollah in response to attacks on their leaders, but also the question of Iran's response to a murder on its soil. Haniyeh was killed while in Tehran with other senior members of the pro-Iranian Axis of Resistance to attend the inauguration of Iran's newly elected president. So what happened is not just the assassination of a senior Hamas leader, but a new challenge to the Islamic Republic that Tehran will not be able to ignore. At first glance, the negative resonance for Iran already significantly exceeds that caused by the assassination of senior IRGC officers in Damascus by the Israelis in April, which led to Iran’s first-ever strikes on Israeli territory. Then Iran fired multiple missiles. The two countries have been waging a secret war for years, using a variety of "proxies," and Israel has been practicing targeted killings. In recent years, the Israelis have already carried out a number of high-profile "operations" in Iran. The current situation is aggravated by the Iranians' awareness of their inability to protect the leader of their ally in their own capital. On Tuesday, shortly before his death, Haniyeh met with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader. Israel's ability to target the Islamic Republic's top leaders and their guests is a serious challenge to Iran, where no one can feel safe anymore. It cannot be ruled out that the murder of Haniyeh will give rise to a new wave of rumors and gossip in the country regarding the death of President Ebrahim Raisi, and many will again talk about an Israeli connection. Of course, such escalation does not add popularity to the Iranian authorities. On the other hand, it forces Tehran to look for such response measures that would demonstrate its ability to carry out retaliatory actions in order to prevent a repetition of such attacks. The anxiety currently reigning in Iranian society has prompted the country's authorities to review security measures, which have now failed once again. The Islamic Republic's leadership had already held an emergency meeting of the Supreme National Security Council at the Supreme Leader's Residence on Wednesday morning. Iranian state television said the Israeli attack would lead to retaliation from Iran-backed "Axis of Resistance" groups in the region. Israel will face a "harsh and painful response" from Iran and its allies, Iran's Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) said in a statement following the meeting. Haniyeh's assassination may also bring the denouement closer in Lebanon, as it coincides with the Israeli attack on Hezbollah headquarters in Beirut and the death of Fouad Shukr. Hezbollah and Iran will now coordinate their efforts to carry out possible retaliatory actions against Israel. This further increases the risk of Israelis clashing in Lebanon with the Iranians and other forces of the "Axis of Resistance." This was probably Netanyahu's plan, too. The Israeli prime minister did not receive US approval to begin the campaign in Lebanon and is now trying to provoke Iran and Hezbollah into retaliatory actions that would serve as a pretext for an Israeli invasion. Then Washington will have nothing to say. The US will have no choice but to continue providing military aid to Tel Aviv. Moreover, the United States cannot formally condemn Israel for the murder of Haniyeh, since it itself suggested that Israel, instead of carpet bombing and street fighting in Gaza, focus on eliminating the Hamas figures responsible for the October 7 attacks. However, such a scenario also puts American forces in the region at risk, since responsibility for the death of the Hamas leader could also be placed on the United States. The Axis of Resistance groups in Syria and Iraq are quite capable of resuming attacks on American military installations in those countries, taking the escalation to a new dangerous level. |
| Posted by:badanov |
| #3 As it turns out, they put a bomb in his mattress. How penetrated do you have to be for that kind of target planning? |
| Posted by: ed in texas 2024-08-01 14:54 |
| #2 I suspect the assassination may have been done with a reaper style drone. Long range, stealthy, can do the round trip without refueling and all that. A lot easier than sending a piloted jet to do the job. |
| Posted by: Seeking Cure For Ignorance 2024-08-01 03:26 |
| #1 Russians are sentimental about "Palestinians" & Iran. "Palestinians" because Soviet Union invented them in 1960es (and sold the idea to the Arabs - which wasn't easy). Iran because it reminds them of Soviet Union - only with Islam instead of Marxism. |
| Posted by: Grom the Reflective 2024-08-01 02:04 |