An explosive device secretly smuggled into a Tehran guesthouse was used to assassinate Hamas political wing chief Ismail Haniyeh, the New York Times said in a report.
The New York Times said the bomb was hidden around two months ago inside the guesthouse. It also added that the guesthouse is run and protected by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).
The guesthouse is located in Neshat, an upscale neighbourhood of northern Tehran.
Haniyeh, who was in Iran for the presidential inauguration, was killed when the bomb was remotely detonated after it was confirmed he was inside the room. The blast also killed a bodyguard.
The US-based newspaper cited seven West Asian officials which included two Iranians and one US official. News18 could not independently verify the authenticity of the report.
The attack was precisely planned, the report pointed out citing officials from Iran and other West Asian nations. The officials said that Haniyeh, who led Hamas’ political wing in Qatar, had stayed in the guesthouse several times when visiting Tehran earlier.
The officials told the newspaper that Israeli intelligence officials briefed their American counterparts on the details of the operation, citing five West Asian officials. Israel has not publicly acknowledged responsibility for the killing.
US officials have reached an assessment that Israel was responsible for the assassination. Hamas and the Iranian regime have vowed harsh retaliation for the killing of Haniyeh.
The top negotiator in the cease-fire talks was killed in a manner that suggested precise planning, the newspaper said, pointing out that the leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Ziyad al-Nakhalah, was staying next door and his room was not badly damaged.
General Ismail Ghaani, the commander in chief of the Quds Force, the overseas arm of the Revolutionary Guards, which works closely with Iranian allies in the region, including Hamas and Hezbollah was the first person to be notified of the assassination.
He then woke Ayatollah Khameini in the middle of the night to deliver the news to him.
The New York Times said, citing Iranian officials that such a breach was an embarrassment for the IRGC who was responsible for his safety.
The officials also highlighted that the bomb caused minimal damage to the building, highlighting that it dismissed the theory that a missile strike caused the death. The explosion killed Haniyeh immediately.
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