Before attacking Israel: Iran scrambles to find internal ‘collaborators’ in Haniyeh assassination

Mossad reportedly paid security agents from Iran's Revolutionary Guard to plant bomb

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While Israel has been bracing for Iranian retaliation after Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in the heart of its capital Tehran, the regime has apparently been busy “cleaning house” after the embarrassing hit on its guest of honor.

According to The New York Times, a special unit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), responsible for the security of Haniyeh when he was killed by a bomb explosion in an IRGC compound on Wednesday, is actively pursuing suspects and has made numerous arrests.

The unit is actively seeking traces of the team of assassins responsible for the attack, believing that some members are still in the country, according to two anonymous Iranian officials quoted by the NYT.

The Telegraph reported that Israel's foreign intelligence service, Mossad, paid agents from the IRGC's Ansar al-Mahdi protection unit to plant the bomb in Haniyeh's room.

An IRGC official also told the British paper: “This is a humiliation for Iran and a huge security breach.”

“It’s still a question for everyone how it happened, I can’t make sense of it. There must be something higher up in the hierarchy that no one knows about,” he added.

So far, over two dozen individuals – including senior intelligence officers, military officials, and staff working at the IRGC guesthouse – have been detained.

The guest house staff was placed under quarantine, and all electronic devices including personal phones, were confiscated. Investigators also reviewed security camera footage and scrutinized the attendance records of staff members extending back several months.

Several media outlets have reported that Haniyeh was killed by a bomb hidden several weeks earlier in the room at the guest house where the senior Hamas leader was staying. The bomb was reportedly activated remotely by Israeli Mossad agents who were on Iranian soil at the time.

According to the Post, the explosive device used in the assassination of Haniyeh employed cutting-edge remote technology similar to that used in the assassination of Iranian nuclear chief Mohsen Fakhrizadeh several years ago.

“The breach has humiliated everyone,” an Iranian source told the Telegraph. The urgency to identify the culprits is reportedly so pressing that the much-threatened retaliation against Israel has seemingly taken a backseat to the internal investigations.

Esmail Qaani, commander of the IRGC’s powerful and shadowy Quds Force, has summoned employees to be fired, arrested and possibly executed, the Telegraph’s source added.

“The Supreme Leader has summoned all the commanders several times over the past two days, he wants answers. For him, addressing the security breach is now more important than seeking revenge.”

The shocking assassination of Haniyeh rocked the Islamic regime just as the inauguration of its newly-appointed president, Masoud Pezeshkian, had taken place hours ealier.

Some believe Pezeshkian will return a semblance of normalcy to the leadership that was reeling from the death of former president Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in a helicopter crash months ago.

Now, the regime is questioning the loyalty of members of the IRGC, which was viewed to be among its main pillars of stability.

At Haniyeh’s funeral ceremony on Friday, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was filmed glancing suspiciously at the sky several times. After praying while being surrounded more closely than usual by his bodyguards, he left immediately, according to the NYT.

A member of the IRGC told the Telegraph that security protocols for senior regime officials were completely changed since the assassination. This included swapping the security details, moving officials from their usual locations, and handing out new mobile phones.

Another team of investigators has reportedly been tasked with interrogating senior military and intelligence officials responsible for keeping the capital safe.