Funeral processions have begun in Tehran for Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike on July 31. Mourners carrying Haniyeh posters and Palestinian flags gathered at Tehran University in the heart of the city, according to an AFP correspondent. The Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, presided over the prayer ceremony. Iran closed its airspace, Israeli media reported. An attack by Tehran on Israel appears increasingly imminent, with US airlines canceling flights to Israel. United Airlines, which suspended flights in October after Hamas’ attack on Israel and resumed them in June, said it would again suspend flights for security reasons, according to a statement cited by CBS News. “Beginning with tonight’s flight from Newark Liberty to Tel Aviv, we will be safely suspending our daily service to Tel Aviv while we evaluate next steps. We continue to closely monitor the situation and will make decisions about resuming service with the safety of our customers and crews in mind,” the airline said. Delta Airlines also said it would suspend flights through Aug. 2 “due to ongoing conflict in the region.”
According to some military analysts, Tehran has informed Qatar and Saudi Arabia (where US troops are present) of its intention to launch an attack against Israel and has asked Doha and Riyadh to deny access to their airspace to both Israel and the United States. However, it seems unlikely that this could happen in the event of an attack, given that on July 30, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin assured that “if Israel is attacked, we will help it defend itself.” Yesterday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that “difficult days lie ahead” for Israel, which is preparing for attacks by Iran and its regional allies following the assassination last Tuesday in Beirut of Shukr, alias Hajj Mohsin, number two in Hassan Nasrallah’s militias, and of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. From his military headquarters in Tel Aviv, after a three-hour security cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said Israel was facing threats from across the region after the killing of Fuad Shukr, whom he called “Hezbollah’s chief of staff,” adding: “We are prepared for any scenario and will remain united and determined against any threat. Israel will exact a very high price for any aggression against us.”
This is how Hamas’ number one was killed.
Ismail Haniyeh had arrived in the capital on July 30 to attend the inauguration ceremony of the new president Masoud Pezeshkian, who had met with Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Around 2 a.m. local time (midnight: half past midnight in Italy), “an airborne guided projectile” hit his room in a residence reserved for war veterans and Pasdaran officers in northern Tehran, the state-run IRNA news agency reported, killing him and his bodyguard. An Iranian source, quoted by the Lebanese broadcaster Al-Mayadeen with ties to Hezbollah, said that the Hamas leader was killed by a surface-to-surface missile fired from outside Iran, contrary to earlier reports that the missile had been launched from within the borders of the Islamic Republic. The Revolutionary Guards said in a statement that “further investigations are underway and exact details will be announced shortly.”
