According to reports from global news outlets, Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the political bureau of Hamas, was assassinated in Tehran just hours after attending the presidential inauguration ceremony of Massoud Pezeshkian. The killing of Haniyeh shortly after Israel claimed to have killed a senior military commander of Hezbollah in Beirut has exacerbated the crisis in the Middle East, bringing the region to the brink of an extremely dangerous and widespread [all out] military conflict.
Although the details of this criminal assassination are not yet fully clear, Fars News Agency, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), reported that Ismail Haniyeh was killed by a “projectile from the air.” According to the same report, the attack on Haniyeh’s location occurred at “around 2am [local time].”
“Martyr Haniyeh, who had come to Iran for the inauguration ceremony of President [Pezeshkian], was staying in one of the special residences for veterans in northern Tehran,” the report continued.
The Al-Mayadeen news network (based in Beirut) also reported that Haniyeh’s assassination in Tehran was carried out with a missile fired from outside the country.
In a message released in the event’s aftermath, Ali Khamenei stated that Israel “by assassinating Ismail Haniyeh, has paved the way for a severe punishment” and added that “we consider it our duty to avenge his blood, shed in the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
The IRGC also issued a second statement on the matter, that read: “Undoubtedly, this crime of the Zionist regime will be met with a severe and painful response from the powerful and great front of resistance, especially Islamic Iran, and the blessings of the jihads of the al-Quds martyr, Dr. Ismail Haniyeh, in defending the ideals and rights of the Palestinian people will assist them.”
Yesterday, Haniyeh had met and talked with President Massoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of his inauguration ceremony in the parliament. In reaction to this assassination by Israel on Iranian soil, Massoud Pezeshkian said: “Yesterday I raised his [Haniyeh’s] hand in victory, and today I must carry him on my shoulders in a funeral procession… The Islamic Republic of Iran will defend its territorial integrity, honour, dignity, and pride, and will make the terrorist occupiers regret their cowardly act.”
The criminal assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran occurred after Netanyahu’s visit to the United States and his meeting with US officials, possibly to consult with them and obtain the green light from US imperialism for his government to carry out this attack on Iranian soil.
The assassination of Hamas’ chief peace negotiator in Tehran also indicates that the criminal and racist Israeli government, at a time it is under pressure from world public opinion and condemned for its crimes against humanity, has been eager to expand its military engagements at any cost to save itself – and particularly to draw the governments of Iran and Lebanon into a devastating regional war.
The Qatari prime minister, who played a mediating role in peace negotiations between Israel and Hamas, reacted to this assassination by saying: “how can mediation succeed when one party assassinates the negotiator on the other side?”
The US government, while expressing “ignorance” about this assassination and “not being involved” in it, warned that it would defend Israel if it were attacked.
The assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran also raises serious questions about the state of Iran’s security apparatus. This is not the first time that Israeli security forces have been able to easily carry out terrorist operations on Iranian soil. This assassination once more highlights the extensive infiltration of imperialist intelligence agencies into Iran’s security apparatus. From the assassination of Qasem Soleimani in Iraq to the assassinations of Iranian nuclear scientists and the killings of several Revolutionary Guards commanders at the Islamic Republic’s embassy in Syria, all indicate the extensive corruption and infiltration of Israeli and imperialist security forces into the intelligence services of the Islamic Republic regime, a regime that shows its “security might” only in brutal and bloody suppression of dissidents in the country.
The Tudeh Party of Iran strongly condemns the criminal assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and believes that the goal of the racist Israeli government is to expand conflicts in the Middle East, particularly dragging the Islamic Republic directly into this devastating war, a war that undoubtedly serves the long-term interests of imperialism in the region. With prudence and vigilance, every effort must be taken to avoid falling into this dangerous trap and to not allow Iran to become entangled in another devastating war, the consequences of which will be disastrous for Iran as well as the region.
The Tudeh Party of Iran calls upon all progressive forces in Iran and around the world to direct their efforts, while condemning this crime which is against all international laws, not only towards preventing a war in the region which will have catastrophic consequences, but also the imposing of peace upon the warmongers.
Tudeh Party of Iran
31 July 2024
