Ismail Haniyeh martyred by bomb planted in Iran guesthouse: report

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was martyred in Tehran by a bomb smuggled into the guesthouse where he was staying a few months earlier, the New York Times (NYT) said in its report.

The report cited seven officials, including two Iranians and one American. The guesthouse, used for retreats, secret meetings, and housing prominent guests such as Haniyeh, suffered shattered windows and a collapsed portion of the wall but minimal damage to the building itself, suggesting that the attack was unlikely to have been a missile strike.

According to the NYT report, the explosion occurred around 2am local time and was triggered remotely, causing significant damage. It shook the building, shattered windows, and partially collapsed an exterior wall.

The report noted that the bomb had been hidden in the guesthouse approximately two months ago, quoting five Middle Eastern officials. The guesthouse, run and protected by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, is part of a large compound known as Neshat, located in an upscale neighbourhood of northern Tehran.

The bomb was detonated remotely once it was confirmed that Haniyeh was inside his room at the guesthouse. The blast also killed a bodyguard

The explosion shook the building, shattered some windows, and caused a partial collapse of an exterior wall, according to two Iranian officials from the Revolutionary Guards briefed on the incident.

Such damage was also evident in a photograph of the building shared with The New York Times.

Haniyeh, who had led Hamas’s political office in Qatar, had stayed at the guesthouse several times when visiting Tehran, according to the Middle Eastern officials.