Israel hired Iranian agents to kill Ismail Haniyeh: reports

A British newspaper, The Telegraph, claimed that Israeli intelligence agency, Mossad, planted a bomb in the room of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh with the help of Iranian agents.

According to the report, Iranian agents installed explosives in three rooms of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC) guest house in northern Tehran where Haniyeh was expected to stay.

The plan was initially to kill Haniyeh in a plane crash in May, but it was foiled due to the large number of people present in Iran at the time, the report mentioned.

Two Iranian officials told the publication that the agents planted the bomb and left the country.

"At 2am on Wednesday, they detonated the explosives from abroad in the room where Haniyeh was staying," the Telegraph said citing officials.

An IRGC official, on condition of anonymity, claimed that Mossad hired agents from the  Ansar al-Mahdi protection unit to carry out the plot.

“Upon further investigation, they discovered additional explosive devices in two other rooms,” he told the UK-based publication.

“This is a humiliation for Iran and a huge security breach,” another official said speaking to the publication.

“It’s still a question for everyone how it happened, I can’t make sense of it. There must be something higher up in the hierarchy that no one knows about,” he added.

According to the official, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei summoned all the commanders several times over the past two days.

“For him [Supreme Leader[, addressing the security breach is now more important than seeking revenge.”

The 62-year-old Palestinian leader was killed in a missile attack on his residence in Tehran in the early hours of Wednesday (July 31), along with one of his bodyguards.

The Revolutionary Guards stated that the cause of the attack is under investigation and will be announced soon.

Haniyeh was in Tehran to attend the swearing-in ceremony of newly-elected Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday.

On Thursday, Khamenei led the funeral prayer of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, which was attended by thousands of men and women. 

Later, his body was transported to Qatar, where his second funeral prayer was offered at Imam Muhammad Bin Abdul Wahab Mosque in Doha on August 2 after Friday prayers.

Haniyeh's family bid their final farewell to him at Lusail Cemetery, where he was laid to rest.