Iran has reportedly arrested dozens in search for suspects after the killing of Hamas terrorist leader Ismail Haniyeh in the heart of its capital city, Tehran.
The sweeping investigation was detailed by The New York Times, which reported earlier this week that Haniyeh was killed by a improvised explosive device (IED) placed in the military-run guesthouse months before the Hamas political faction leader was staying there to celebrate the rise of a new Iranian leader.
The arrests show an intensity to the damaging security failure in the heart of Iran, the Times reported, citing Iranian sources.
"The perception that Iran can neither protect its homeland nor its key allies could be fatal for the Iranian regime, because it basically signals to its foes that if they can't topple the Islamic Republic, they can decapitate it," Iran director for the International Crisis Group's Ali Vaez told the Times.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said Saturday that Haniyeh was killed by a short-range projectile with a warhead of about 15 pounds and vowed "severe" revenge.
Revenge for the killing of the Hamas leader will be "severe and at an appropriate time, place, and manner," the IRCG statement added, blaming the "terrorist Zionist regime" of Israel for his death.
Iran and Hamas have accused Israel of carrying out the strike that killed Haniyeh hours after he attended the inauguration of Iran's new president. Israeli officials have not claimed responsibility.
The statement by the elite IRCG force also accused the "criminal U.S. government" of supporting the attack, which Iranian media said was in a northern suburb of Tehran.
The Times had cited sources saying the IED exploded with Haniyeh harbored in the military guesthouse.
Israel has had Haniyeh on its Hamas target list since Oct. 7 terrorist attacks in southern Israel that slaughtered 1,200.
IRGC intelligence is conducting the investigation.
"The scope and details of this incident are under investigation and will be announced in due course," the IRGC wrote in a statement.
Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, issued an order to strike Israel in retaliation, according to the Iranian officials. The IRGC is also claiming the U.S. support for Israel means Americans bear "responsibility" for the strike on the terrorist on Iranian soil.
That latter claim comes as the Biden administration is sending further U.S. military assets to the region. Newsmax analyst Blaine Holt has long warned about U.S. warships being rushed to an unstable region would make them a target for Iranian strikes or attacks from terrorist proxies in the Middle East.
Hezbollah, Hamas, and Yemen's Houthis are all active against Israel and its allies in the region since Oct. 7.
The killing of Haniyeh has exposed a remarkable ability to strike Hamas terrorist targets deep into Iran, experts said earlier this week.
"This security breach requires different policies and strategies; it may be arresting spies if there was infiltration, or retaliation if the operation was conducted from outside the borders, or a combination of both," Sasan Karimi, a political analyst in Tehran, told the Times.
Notably, Haniyeh ties to Iran's leadership, including the supreme leader vowing retaliation, puts Iran in a precarious position amid a destabilized Middle East.
Iran bolstered is security for his leaders after the attack and amid the funeral for the slain terrorist leader.
After 9/11, former President George W. Bush vowed the U.S. military would strike all terrorists in the Middle East and nations that harbor them. Former President Donald Trump had ostensibly declared an end to the longest running war in American history, and President Joe Biden withdrew all troops from Afghanistan to end the war before the 20th anniversary of 9/11.
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