Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh has been assassinated in the Iranian capital, Tehran, along with one of his bodyguards.
In a statement announcing Haniyeh’s death, Hamas, the group that governs Gaza, blamed Israel for the assassination early on Wednesday, saying the building where he was staying was struck. Haniyeh was in Tehran to attend the inauguration on Tuesday for Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
Hamas said Haniyeh was killed in “a treacherous Zionist raid on his residence in Tehran” but did not include details of the attack in its statement. Israel, meanwhile, provided no immediate comment on Haniyeh’s death. Iranian authorities said they are investigating the attack.
Hamas’s allegation comes during Israel’s war on Gaza, which has killed at least 39,400 Palestinians over nearly 10 months. The war began on October 7 after Hamas-led attacks in southern Israel, which killed 1,139 people while more than 200 people were taken captive.
The assassination also comes after a years-long “shadow war” between Israel and Iran.
A particular target for Israel has been Iran’s nuclear programme. Israel has long accused Tehran of clandestinely building a nuclear bomb that could threaten its existence — and has publicly and frequently spoken of its diplomatic and intelligence-driven efforts to derail those alleged efforts. Iran denies that it has had a military nuclear programme while arguing that it has the right to develop civil nuclear energy.
Here’s a look at a range of attacks in Iran — from drone strikes and assassinations of scientists to cyberattacks and the theft of secrets — that Israel has either accepted it was behind or is accused of having orchestrated:
