Ayatollah Says ‘Severe’ Revenge Coming For Israel Killing Hamas Leader On Iranian Soil

The world just woke up to a new Middle East on Wednesday which stands on the precipice of major war between Iran and its proxies and Israel, following the overnight Israeli assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the top political leader of Hamas, during an inauguration event for Iran’s new president. Haniyeh, who is based in Qatar, and an Iranian security guard were killed reportedly while in the Iranian capital. Hamas has since condemned the “treacherous Zionist raid on his residence in Tehran.”

Iran is vowing “severe” punishment, with the Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, announcing in English and Farsi on X, “The criminal, terrorist Zionist regime martyred our dear guest in our territory and has caused our grief, but it has also prepared the ground for a severe punishment.”

And Iran’s newly sworn-in president Masoud Pezeshkian in a statement cited in state media said the country will “defend its territorial integrity, dignity, honor, and pride, and will make the terrorist occupiers regret their cowardly act.”

Taking out Haniyeh was the second high-profile assassination attributed by Israel in a matter of hours, following the Tuesday airstrike in Beirut that killed Hezbollah’s top military leader and right-hand man to Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, Fuad Shukr. 

That attack was massive and on a neighborhood and buildings in the south of the capital, with Lebanon’s Health Ministry saying three people, including two children, have been killed, with at least 74 wounded. Emergency workers are still searching under the rubble, and thus the civilian death toll is likely to rise further.

And now there are emerging reports of another Israeli air raid – this time on Syria’s capital of Damascus (unconfirmed) – with likely casualties. A large cloud of smoke was seen rising over the Damascus suburb of Sayyidah Zaynab at around 3pm local time. It is an area which sees a constant influx of Iranian religious pilgrims, and Israel has bombed it frequently, saying each time it is targeting Iranian military assets and proxies.

Adding to this volatile mix, the US military also overnight launched its first military action in Iraq in months, reportedly striking militia combatants who attempted to launch a drone attack. The Pentagon is calling the new military action a defensive airstrike.

The US State Department and US administration have reportedly expressed confusion at the rapid series of Israeli actions in the last hours…

“How can Israeli-Palestinian mediation succeed when one party assassinates the negotiator on other side?” Stated Qatar’s Prime Minister

Bill Burns is in midst of negotiations

Blinken said he didn’t know what was going on. Israel doesn’t tell him. https://t.co/6FaTLUEcOP

— Joshua Landis (@joshua_landis) July 31, 2024

Iraq’s pro-Iran Popular Mobilization Authority confirmed casualties, saying, “Forces affiliated with the 47th Brigade… were exposed to an explosion of unknown nature, which resulted in the martyrdom of a number of people and the injury of others.”

So in the last 24 hours there has been military action by Israel or the US in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, and Iraq. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Wednesday spoke with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant regarding “the threats to Israel posed by a range of Iranian-backed terrorist groups, including Lebanese Hezbollah,” according to a readout.

View from the destruction in the aftermath of the Israeli attack on the Beirut suburb of Haret Hreik:

⚡️View from the destruction in Haret Hreik, Lebanon

Zionist terrorists bombed this civilian building which led to the martyrdom of 2 children and one woman. pic.twitter.com/QT29bGH6ws

— War Monitor (@WarMonitors) July 31, 2024

Still there is no official comment from Israel over the Haniyeh killing, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has convene his security cabinet as regional threats of revenge mount over the high profile assassinations. An Israeli government spokesman has said, “We are on extremely high alert for Iranian retaliation.”

Without doubt, this throws the prospect of any hostage negotiations in total disarray and the temperature of conversations within the White House and State Department are likely high. Secretary Blinken has said “We were not aware of or involved in the attack on Haniyeh.” Times of Israel correspondents have said ordinary Palestinians are exhausted from war and exasperated: 

War-weary Palestinians in Gaza mourn the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. Some say it will complicate efforts to reach a ceasefire deal with Israel.

“This man could have signed the prisoner exchange deal with the Israelis,” says Saleh al-Shannar, who was displaced from his home in northern Gaza. “Why did they kill him? They killed peace, not Ismail Haniyeh.”

Meanwhile, Russia has condemned the Israeli killing of the Hamas leader, saying “dangerous” consequences are likely:

⚡Russian Foreign Ministry: Those behind the assassination of Hamas leader were aware of the dangerous consequences this would have for the region — Reuters

— War Monitor (@WarMonitors) July 31, 2024

Many observers already concluded long ago that Netanyahu doesn’t actually want a quick resolution to the Gaza war, but is indeed intent on fighting until Hamas is eradicated, even if that puts the remaining hostages in jeopardy. This has been the constant criticism of his domestic political rivals and the hostage victims’ families. All that Washington officials have said so far is statements saying they are ‘very concerned’ at these developments. Middle East analyst Rami Khouri has expressed the feeling of many Arab leaders in the region, saying that the latest assassination shows that Israel is “a runaway killing machine.”