Conflicting Reports on Haniyeh’s Killing Location, Iran Vows Revenge

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh embraces IRGC Chief Hossein Salami at the Iranian parliament (Reuters)
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh embraces IRGC Chief Hossein Salami at the Iranian parliament (Reuters)
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Conflicting Reports on Haniyeh’s Killing Location, Iran Vows Revenge

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh embraces IRGC Chief Hossein Salami at the Iranian parliament (Reuters)
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh embraces IRGC Chief Hossein Salami at the Iranian parliament (Reuters)

The official Iranian response remains tight-lipped following the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. Conflicting reports have emerged about the location of the attack, while Iranian officials have accused Israel of the killing and vowed revenge.
Haniyeh was in Tehran for the swearing-in of Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, amid tight security and the presence of officials from around 80 countries.
Initial reports from Iranian websites claimed that Haniyeh was killed near the Saadabad Palace by an Israeli drone. Other sources, however, stated that the attack happened in western Tehran.
The “Sabreen News” channel, linked to Iran’s Quds Force, the foreign arm of the Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), first reported the killing at 1:45 a.m. Iranian authorities have not released any photos of the scene.
Simultaneously, reports on the social media platform X mentioned a large blast in western Tehran, an area known for housing IRGC-linked residential sites.
Israeli Channel 12 suggested that the missile that killed Haniyeh was fired from within Iran, not by a drone as some reports had claimed.
Haniyeh and his bodyguard were killed in a guesthouse belonging to the IRGC in northern Tehran’s Chitgar neighborhood. The report noted that Islamic Jihad leader Ziad al-Nakhala, who was in another part of the building, was not targeted.
Khalil al-Hayya, Hamas’s deputy leader, confirmed at a Tehran press conference that witnesses saw a missile hit the room where Haniyeh was staying. He said they are awaiting a full investigation and noted the explosion caused significant damage.
Al-Hayya also stated that discussions of a ceasefire with Israel are now irrelevant following the assassination.
He emphasized that while neither Iran nor Hamas seeks a regional war, the killing must be avenged, leaving resistance as the only option.
The IRGC confirmed that Haniyeh and one of his bodyguards were killed when their residence in Tehran was targeted. The statement provided few details.
Later, the Tasnim and Fars news agencies, both affiliated with the IRGC, reported that Haniyeh was killed at 2 a.m. by an aerial projectile.
According to the agencies, Haniyeh was staying at a veterans’ facility in northern Tehran.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said an investigation is underway into the assassination. He claimed the killing would strengthen Iran’s ties with the Palestinian cause.
The IRGC warned that Haniyeh’s death would prompt a “severe and painful” response. They pledged that Iran and its regional allies would retaliate against those responsible.
Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said Iran must retaliate for the killing of Haniyeh because it happened on Iranian soil. He warned that Israel’s actions have set the stage for severe consequences.
President Pezeshkian also blamed Israel for the killing and promised that Iran would make Israel regret it.
Reuters reported that Iran’s Supreme National Security Council held an urgent meeting early Wednesday with senior IRGC leaders to address the assassination of Haniyeh.
Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Iran and the resistance would ensure Haniyeh’s death would not go unpunished.
Moreover, Iranian lawmakers suggested infiltrators might have leaked Haniyeh’s location and urged officials to address this issue seriously. They called for a full investigation and warned that Iran would respond to the attack, whether directly or indirectly.



China Announces Joint Naval, Air Drills with Russia 

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese and Russian warships take part in a joint naval drills in the East China Sea, Dec. 27, 2022. (Xu Wei/Xinhua via AP, File)
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese and Russian warships take part in a joint naval drills in the East China Sea, Dec. 27, 2022. (Xu Wei/Xinhua via AP, File)
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China Announces Joint Naval, Air Drills with Russia 

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese and Russian warships take part in a joint naval drills in the East China Sea, Dec. 27, 2022. (Xu Wei/Xinhua via AP, File)
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese and Russian warships take part in a joint naval drills in the East China Sea, Dec. 27, 2022. (Xu Wei/Xinhua via AP, File)

China’s Defense Ministry on Monday announced joint naval and air drills with Russia starting this month, underscoring the closeness between their militaries as Russia presses its grinding invasion of Ukraine.

The ministry said the “Northern United-2024” exercises would take place in the Sea of Japan and the Sea of Okhotsk farther north, but gave no details.

It said the naval and air drills aimed to improve strategic cooperation between the two countries and “strengthen their ability to jointly deal with security threats.”

The notice also said the two navies would cruise together in the Pacific, the fifth time they have done so, and together take part in Russia’s “Great Ocean-24” exercise. No details were given.

China has refused to criticize Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, now in its third year, and blamed the US and NATO for provoking President Vladimir Putin.

While China has not directly provided Russia with arms, it has become a crucial economic lifeline as a top customer for Russian oil and gas as well as a supplier of electronics and other items with both civilian and military uses.

Russia and China, along with other US critics such as Iran, have aligned their foreign policies to challenge Western-led liberal democratic order. With joint exercises, Russia has sought Chinese help in achieving its long-cherished aim of becoming a Pacific power, while Moscow has backed China's territorial claims in the South China Sea and elsewhere.

That has increasingly included the 180-kilometer (110-mile) wide Taiwan Strait that divides mainland China from the self-governing island democracy that Beijing considers its own territory and threatens to invade.

Based on that claim, the Taiwan Strait is Chinese. Though it is not opposed to navigation by others through one of the world's most heavily trafficked sea ways, China is “firmly opposed to provocations by countries that jeopardize China’s sovereignty and security under the banner of freedom of navigation,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a daily briefing on Friday.

Mao was responding to a report that a pair of German navy ships were to pass through the strait this month for the first time in more than two decades. The US and virtually every other country, along with Taiwan, considers the strait international waters.