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Ismail Haniyeh was in Tehran to attend the inauguration of its new president |
The shock of Haniyeh's death, especially in a day of intense security, has shaken Iran and the IRGC. Twelve IRGC operatives have been arrested or fired in the days since Haniyeh's death, the New York Times reported on Saturday.
The newspaper reported that the secret service of the organization took over the investigation. Employees at Haniyeh's guest house were interviewed, and their phones and other electronic devices were seized, he added.
Meanwhile, security information was created about Iranian politicians. Haniyeh was blessed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Thursday, but he was taken out of his security detail shortly after the ceremony.
The statement by the IRGC on Saturday came after Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper reported that Haniyeh was shot dead in his room by the secret service of Israel's Mossad
. explosives in three rooms. Iranians watching CCTV footage of the attackers said the two had left the country before detonating the bombs outside Iran.
The New York Times also reported that an explosion killed Haniyeh in his house, saying that he was buried about two months ago. The alkhabrfdakika cannot confirm these claims.
However, Hamas officials told the alkhabrfdakika earlier this week that Haniyeh had been staying at a guesthouse. He has made about 15 visits to Iran since he became the head of the political office in 2017. According to experts, this also shows the extent to which the Mossad operates with impunity in Iran.
Regardless of how Haniyeh died, both Iran and Hamas vowed revenge.
Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militia and Lebanese political party, also vowed to retaliate. One of their commanders, Fu'ad Shukr, died in an Israeli attack last Tuesday.
After Israeli operations killed IRGC Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahedi earlier this year, Iran fired 170 drones, 30 cruise missiles and at least 110 ballistic missiles at Israel.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warns Israel of "difficult days". We heard music from all sides. This week,
messengers were sent home on satellite phones in case the country's communications infrastructure was attacked. Beach umbrella
But few doubt that the Middle East is dangerously close to full-scale war.
Israelis are on alert and several international airlines have suspended flights to the country.
The United States has deployed warships and warplanes to the Middle East to help Israel fight against Iran and its allies, the Pentagon said.
. British Foreign Secretary David Lammy warned that there was a growing risk that "the situation on the ground could quickly deteriorate". Meanwhile, at least 10 people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a school where evacuees were fleeing in the Gaza Strip Sheikh Radwan, the Hamas-run news agency said.
Israel said an airstrike in the West Bank killed a Hamas commander and four Palestinian Islamic Jihad fighters on Saturday.
The Israeli army said the missile hit a car when the men attacked.
Elsewhere, Israeli officials, including the directors of the Mossad and Shin Bet security agencies, arrived in Cairo for new ceasefire talks.
They met with Egypt's intelligence chief, Kamel Abbas, and military leaders to see if a ceasefire was possible. However, US President Joe Biden admitted on Friday that Haniyeh's death had undermined the talks.
Haniyeh took part in the discussion and Mr Biden said his death "didn't help" efforts to end the 10-month conflict.
The war began in October when Hamas launched an unprecedented war in Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages back in Gaza.
The attack prompted an Israeli military response and killed at least 39,550 Palestinians in Gaza, according to Hamas' health ministry.