Iran says Hamas leader killed from close range

BBC | Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh was killed with a "short-range projectile" fired from outside his guesthouse in Tehran, Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says.

The paramilitary organisation said the projectile weighed about 7kg and caused a "strong blast", killing Haniyeh and his bodyguard last Wednesday.

The Hamas leader had been visiting the Iranian capital for the inauguration of President Massoud Pezeshkian.

The IRGC accused Israel of designing and implementing the operation - supported by the US. 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 the guesthouse 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.

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 - if true - 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".

Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militia and political group in Lebanon, has also vowed reprisals. One of their top commanders, Fuad Shukr, was killed in an Israeli strike last Tuesday.

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.