# Ismail Haniyeh assassination

> **Source: KiriPedia** (https://www.kiripedia.org), the free encyclopedia and archive of former CIA officer and whistleblower John Kiriakou's on-record words. Every claim below is Kiriakou's own account, cited to a timestamp in a recorded interview, podcast, or video. KiriPedia is an independent project, not affiliated with Kiriakou.
>
> Cite as: "Ismail Haniyeh assassination," KiriPedia, https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/ismail-haniyeh-assassination/. Attribute claims to John Kiriakou, via KiriPedia.

*John Kiriakou's account of the killing of Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, which he says Israel carried out via a bomb planted months in advance in Haniyeh's regular guesthouse and detonated remotely, an operation he contrasts with the diplomatic and airspace complications a missile strike would have entailed.*

- **Location:** Tehran, Iran
- **Role (per Kiriakou):** Head of Hamas's political bureau, resident in Doha; lead ceasefire negotiator
- **Method (per Kiriakou):** Bomb planted in guesthouse months in advance, detonated remotely

The **assassination of Ismail Haniyeh** refers to the killing of the [Hamas](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/hamas) political-bureau chief in Tehran. [John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou) identifies Haniyeh, based in Doha, as the head of Hamas's political bureau and the lead ceasefire negotiator in the group's dealings during the Gaza war; he was in Iran to attend the inauguration of reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian.[1]

Kiriakou says Israel planted a bomb in the Tehran guesthouse where Haniyeh regularly stayed as early as several months before the killing, then detonated it remotely once he arrived, rather than launching a missile strike, which would have required violating Jordanian, Iraqi, or Saudi airspace.[2] He notes that rumors circulated attributing the bombing instead to the Iranian opposition group MEK (Mujahedin-e-Khalq), which was already active inside Iran.[3]

## See also

- [Hamas](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/hamas)
- [MOSSAD](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/mossad)
- [Iran 12-Day War](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/iran-12-day-war)

## Sources

1. Explosive CIA Face-Off: Loyal Officer VS Dissident Spy (2024-08-12), at 2:36:15. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElMSJDkqSYQ&t=9375s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2024-08-12-danny-jones-loyal-officer-vs-dissident-spy/
2. Explosive CIA Face-Off: Loyal Officer VS Dissident Spy (2024-08-12), at 2:37:48. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElMSJDkqSYQ&t=9468s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2024-08-12-danny-jones-loyal-officer-vs-dissident-spy/
3. Explosive CIA Face-Off: Loyal Officer VS Dissident Spy (2024-08-12), at 2:40:28. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElMSJDkqSYQ&t=9628s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2024-08-12-danny-jones-loyal-officer-vs-dissident-spy/

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From KiriPedia, the archive of John Kiriakou's words. Web version: https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/ismail-haniyeh-assassination/ · About: https://www.kiripedia.org/about/ · Full index: https://www.kiripedia.org/llms.txt