Israel's elite intelligence agency Mossad enlisted Iranian security agents to plant explosives in a building in Tehran where armed Palestinian group Hamas's political leader Ismail Haniyeh was staying, The Telegraph reported.
The initial plan was to assassinate Haniyeh in May during his visit to Tehran for the funeral of former Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi. The operation was aborted due to overwhelming crowds, which posed a major risk of failure, according to two Iranian officials who spoke to The Telegraph.
Therefore, the operation had to be modified. Two agents, working under Mossad's direction, placed explosive devices in three separate rooms of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) guesthouse in northern Tehran. This location was strategically chosen as it was likely that Haniyeh would stay there.
How Mossad Functions
With a $3 billion annual budget and 7,000-strong staff, Mossad is the second-largest espionage agency in the West after the CIA.
Mossad has several departments, but the details of its internal structure are mostly hidden. It not only has a network of informants and agents inside Palestinian militant groups, but also in hostile countries like Lebanon, Syria, and Iran. The intelligence agency's vast spy network provides them with intimate knowledge of militant leaders' movements, enabling them to execute precise assassinations as and when necessitated.
Explained | How Mossad Functions And Why It Failed To Stop Hamas Attack
The Special Operations Division, also known as Metsada, carries out highly sensitive assassinations, sabotage, paramilitary, and psychological warfare operations.
Operation To Eliminate Haniyeh
According to The Telegraph, surveillance footage, held by Iranian officials, shows the agents moving stealthily, entering and exiting multiple rooms within minutes. After planting the devices, they exited Iran undetected but maintained a source within the country. In the early hours of Wednesday, at 2 am, the operatives remotely detonated the explosives in the room where Haniyeh was staying.
The explosion resulted in the death of Haniyeh, who was in Tehran to attend the inauguration of President Masoud Pezeshkian. This assassination has been confirmed by officials within the IRGC, who now believe Mossad employed agents from the Ansar-al-Mahdi protection unit, a group responsible for safeguarding high-ranking officials inside and outside the country.
"This is a humiliation for Iran and a huge security breach," an IRGC official told The Telegraph. A special working group has been established to devise strategies to mitigate the perception of this breach, the official added.
Potential Ramifications
In response to this breach, the IRGC is considering its options for retaliation. A direct strike on Tel Aviv, potentially involving Hezbollah and other Iranian proxies, is reportedly a primary option under evaluation.
Since the Islamic Revolution of 1979 that upended Iran's political and societal structure, the country has made a conscious effort to fan its influence across the Middle East with proxy groups.
Explained | Axis Of Resistance And Iran’s Proxy Network Across Middle East
The Quds Force, one of the five branches of the IRGC, which specialises in intelligence and covert operations, serves as the main point of contact for these proxy groups, providing them with weapons and training to solidify Iran's regional agenda.
The timing of the assassination, coinciding with President Pezeshkian's first day in office, has sparked suspicions about its intentionality. During his campaign, President Pezeshkian had pledged to move away from the Islamic Republic's provocative policies and to restore Iran's standing through dialogue.
President Pezeshkian, a seasoned lawmaker and cardiac surgeon, haslong supported both domestic and international reforms in Iran. His win in the recent elections is viewed as a call for change since it follows a general unhappiness with the hardline policies of his predecessors. But the dynamics of Iranian politics, where hardliners still control the majority and the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei retains ultimate authority, will put Mr Pezeshkian’s ability to carry out his vision to the test.