Iran carries out mass arrests after Hamas leader’s assassination

Iran has arrested dozens of people following the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in the capital, Tehran, earlier this week.

Those arrested include senior intelligence officers, military officials and employees of the guesthouse where Haniyeh was killed.

Security officials also targeted Tehran’s international and domestic airports, reviewing months of camera footage from arrivals and departures lounges and examining flight lists, according to sources familiar with the investigation, speaking to The New York Times.

The sources said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) intelligence unit specializing in espionage was in charge of the investigation.

Haniyeh’s death sparked an outcry among Palestinians and Hamas allies and raised concerns about Iran’s ability to maintain security within its borders.

The IRGC announced in a statement, saying that “the extent and details of this incident are under investigation and will be announced in due course.”

Haniyeh, a veteran Hamas official who played a key role in negotiating a possible ceasefire in Gaza, was killed along with his longtime bodyguard, Wasim Abu Shaaban, on Wednesday, hours after attending the swearing-in ceremony of Iran’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian.

On Thursday, the New York Times reported that Haniyeh had been killed by a sophisticated bomb planted in his bedroom about two months earlier.

However, people at the guesthouse told Middle East Eye on Friday that the Hamas political leader was killed by a projectile fired into his room.

The IRGC-friendly Fars news agency reported that an investigation indicated that Haniyeh was “hit by a projectile” and concluded that Israeli involvement “cannot be ruled out.”

Abdolrasool Divsallar, sprincipal investigator An official at the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) told MEE that the assassination showed Tehran was struggling to maintain “secure communications” and protect foreign dignitaries.

“It was on Iranian territory, there was a huge loss of credibility… and it is a question of sovereignty for Tehran,” he said.

He added that a “coordinated” response from Iran and its proxies could be imminent.

“I think what is important is the quantity and scale of the response and the level of coordination, and I think we have not seen a coordinated attack on Israel at the same time,” he told Middle East Eye.