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Iran Guards Rule Out Breach in Haniyeh Assassination

A picture shows the site of the explosion at the “Imam Ali” guest house compound in northern Tehran. (Social media)
A picture shows the site of the explosion at the “Imam Ali” guest house compound in northern Tehran. (Social media)
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Iran Guards Rule Out Breach in Haniyeh Assassination

A picture shows the site of the explosion at the “Imam Ali” guest house compound in northern Tehran. (Social media)
A picture shows the site of the explosion at the “Imam Ali” guest house compound in northern Tehran. (Social media)

The deputy of the intelligence unit in the Quds Force, the external arm of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), rejected the possibility of a breach in the assassination of Hamas Political Bureau Chief Ismail Haniyeh, saying the operation had “different dimensions”.

Spokesman for Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee Ebrahim Rezaei told deputies that obtaining “complete information about the assassination requires a careful investigation.”

He added that Iran’s intelligence authorities had assured that the assassination was not the result of a “breach.”

The case “is currently under final investigations,” Rezaei was quoted by the Tasnim news agency as saying.

In earlier remarks, a committee member said Israel has a network of influence inside Iran and Tehran. The MP told the reformist ILNA news agency: “What happened is a terrorist act par excellence and deserves a reaction from Iran.”

Meanwhile, Iran’s assistant head of the judiciary announced the formation of a judicial file in Haniyeh’s assassination, a procedure similar to the one that followed the killing of IRGC Quds Force commander General Qassem Soleimani in a US strike near Baghdad airport in January 2020.

The IRGC-affiliated Fars news agency quoted Sadeq Rahimi as saying: “The Public Prosecutor issued directives on the need to identify and arrest those who were negligent in the Haniyeh assassination, or those who were used as agents.”

Rahimi reiterated accusations that Israel was behind the operation, saying: “There is no doubt that the Zionist entity committed the crime, but investigations are underway to find out whether Israel used infiltrators, agents or committed the crime directly.”

The IRGC Counter-Espionage Department is investigating the alleged infiltration. Iranian security personnel raided the guest house compound where Haniyeh had repeatedly stayed during his visits to Tehran.

The agents placed all members of the hotel staff under custody, arrested some, and confiscated all electronic devices, including personal phones, according to media reports.

Meanwhile, Iranian police denied social networks claims about the arrest of General Hassan Karami, commander of the Iranian police Special Forces, on charges of “espionage in the Haniyeh assassination.”

Both Fars and Tasnim cited the police command as saying that the reports were “false and fabricated.”

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Cyprus Can Help Rid Syria of Chemical Weapons, Search for its Missing, Says Top Diplomat

FILE PHOTO: A UN chemical weapons expert, wearing a gas mask, holds a plastic bag containing samples from one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus August 29, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamed Abdullah
FILE PHOTO: A UN chemical weapons expert, wearing a gas mask, holds a plastic bag containing samples from one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus August 29, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamed Abdullah
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Cyprus Can Help Rid Syria of Chemical Weapons, Search for its Missing, Says Top Diplomat

FILE PHOTO: A UN chemical weapons expert, wearing a gas mask, holds a plastic bag containing samples from one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus August 29, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamed Abdullah
FILE PHOTO: A UN chemical weapons expert, wearing a gas mask, holds a plastic bag containing samples from one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus August 29, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamed Abdullah

Cyprus stands ready to help eliminate Syria’s remaining chemical weapons stockpiles and to support a search for people whose fate remains unknown after more than a decade of war, the top Cypriot diplomat said Saturday.

Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos said Cyprus’ offer is grounded on its own past experience both with helping rid Syria of chemical weapons 11 years ago and its own ongoing, decades-old search for hundreds of people who disappeared amid fighting between Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriots in the 1960s and a 1974 Turkish invasion, The AP reported.

Cyprus in 2013 hosted the support base of a mission jointly run by the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to remove and dispose of Syria's chemical weapons.

“As a neighboring country located just 65 miles from Syria, Cyprus has a vested interest in Syria’s future. Developments there will directly impact Cyprus, particularly in terms of potential new migratory flows and the risks of terrorism and extremism,” Kombos told The AP in written replies to questions.

Kombos said there are “profound concerns” among his counterparts across the region over Syria’s future security, especially regarding a possible resurgence of extremist groups like ISIS in a fragmented and polarized society.

“This is particularly critical in light of potential social and demographic engineering disguised as “security” arrangements, which could further destabilize the country,” Kombos said.

The diplomat also pointed to the recent proliferation of narcotics production like the stimulant Captagon that is interconnected with smuggling networks involved in people and arms trafficking.

Kombos said ongoing attacks against Syria’s Kurds must stop immediately, given the role that Kurdish forces have played in combating extremist forces like the ISIS group in the past decade.

Saleh Muslim, a member of the Kurdish Presidential Council, said in an interview that the Kurds primarily seek “equality” enshrined in rights accorded to all in any democracy.

He said a future form of governance could accord autonomy to the Kurds under some kind of federal structure.

“But the important thing is to have democratic rights for all the Syrians and including the Kurdish people,” he said.

Muslim warned that the Kurdish-majority city of Kobani, near Syria’s border with Türkiye, is in “very big danger” of falling into the hands of Turkish-backed forces, and accused Türkiye of trying to occupy it.

Kombos said the international community needs to ensure that the influence Türkiye is trying to exert in Syria is “not going to create an even worse situation than there already is.”

“Whatever the future landscape in Syria, it will have a direct and far-reaching impact on the region, the European Union and the broader international community,” Kombos said.