The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of Iran released two statements on the death of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on the night of July 31 but provided no details.
The IRGC-affiliated Fars news agency reported that Haniyeh and his bodyguard were killed in a special building for war veterans in northern Tehran. However, Iran International, an opposition source, notes that no such building is mentioned in open sources.
According to Iran International, the building might be for special guests in the Saad Abad complex, a protected area in a forest separated from the city, with a mountain range to the north. Some sources suggest Haniyeh was staying in the Basij al-Zahra camp within this complex.
Witnesses reported a powerful explosion that set off car alarms and covered the area in smoke and dust.
The official account states the strike was carried out by a missile. An Iranian source told the Lebanese channel Al-Mayadeen, linked to Hezbollah, that Haniyeh was killed by a missile from another country, not Iran, though the reliability of this information is unclear.
There are rumors of an attack by a multicopter at close range or a high-precision anti-tank Spike missile targeting the residential complex. If true, this indicates a failure by Iranian security services protecting guests for President Masoud Pezeshkian's inauguration. If a cruise missile from another state's airspace carried out the attack, the IRGC could shift the blame to the Iranian army's air defense.
