Hamas says its top leader has been killed in Iran's capital Tehran

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

We're following a story with implications for multiple world events. It involves the killing of the political leader of Hamas.

A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:

Ismail Haniyeh was one of two key figures in the Palestinian group. The military leader is believed to be inside Gaza, where Hamas is fighting Israel. Haniyeh moved around the region, and he was in Iran for the inauguration of its new president. That's where he was killed. Iran holds the U.S. responsible due to its support for Israel, and Iran's supreme leader says avenging Haniyeh's killing is Tehran's duty. The Hamas leader previously told Al Jazeera the battle for Palestinians comes with a price.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

ISMAIL HANIYEH: (Speaking Arabic).

MARTÍNEZ: He said, "this is a responsibility that has costs, and we are prepared for the costs - martyrdom for the sake of Palestine."

INSKEEP: This is one of several developments through the region we're going to discuss with Jane Arraf in Beirut and Daniel Estrin in Tel Aviv, NPR's veteran correspondents in the region. Welcome to you both.

JANE ARRAF, BYLINE: Thank you, Steve.

DANIEL ESTRIN, BYLINE: Thanks, Steve.

INSKEEP: Jane, what happened in Tehran as best we know at this moment?

ARRAF: Well, Steve, as best we know, Hamas and Iran both say that Haniyeh - Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader - has been killed in Tehran, and they blame Israel. Israel hasn't commented yet. The Iranian news agency describes an airstrike that targeted his residence in Tehran. He's normally based in Qatar. Still some remaining questions, obviously, but an extremely dangerous development.

INSKEEP: Why would that be? Why would this be so important?

ARRAF: Well, first, it was the place - targeting the Iranian capital - and then the timing around the inauguration of the new Iranian president. That timing is seen by Iran as particularly provocative. And then there's Haniyeh himself. He was the head of the Hamas political bureau based in Qatar, the former Palestinian prime minister. And perhaps most importantly now, he was a key negotiator in the U.S.- and Qatar-mediated cease-fire talks between Hamas and Israel. And let's not forget, Steve, the killing of Haniyeh and his bodyguard was less than 12 hours after Israel said it killed a very senior commander of Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group, in Beirut.

INSKEEP: OK. So we have two different killings in two different capitals. Israel claims credit for one, does not yet take responsibility for the other. We'll find out what they have to say, and we're going to Daniel in a moment. But how is Hezbollah responding you are in Beirut?

ARRAF: Well, so far, it's pretty measured, I'd say. Israel says categorically that it killed Fuad Shukr, the Hezbollah commander. But Hezbollah, in its first statement on the attack today, said civil defense workers are still going through the rubble of the building, and they hadn't yet determined whether he's dead. It did say he had been in the building. So that statement is presumed to mean they haven't identified his body yet.

And that buys them a bit of time, as these attacks are unlikely to go unanswered. Shukr was described as the second in command of the group, close to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who's expected to speak at some point. But he has made clear in the past that any Israeli strikes in Beirut will provoke a greater response on an Israeli city. And, Steve, just one last point - a key part of this is Iran, of course. Iran's ambassador to Lebanon told reporters this morning that, since the attack happened a few hours ago, it requires more time, and Iran has not yet formulated an official response.

INSKEEP: Daniel Estrin in Tel Aviv - I'm just trying to keep my head around the sheer number of vitally important world news stories that are touched by this because it's in Iran, because it involves Hamas, because it involves Israel in some way. What is Israel saying about these two assassinations?

ESTRIN: Well, Israel has no comment on the attack on the Hamas leader, and any official Israeli acknowledgment of that could further escalate tensions and even draw a forceful response by Iran, where this attack took place on its own soil. We did see Iran's president say Iran would defend its territorial integrity.

But as for the other attack that happened before that in Beirut, Israel has claimed responsibility for that strike - for killing the Hezbollah official in Lebanon. They are calling him Hezbollah's most senior military commander, in charge of Hezbollah's most advanced weaponry and responsible for rocket fire that killed 12 children in the Golan Heights last weekend. And that is what sparked this latest escalation.

INSKEEP: Jane Arraf, I'm just trying to keep everything straight on the map. We have an assassination in Iran. We have an assassination in Beirut. Each one is a leader of a group that Iran supports. I guess we should note that. And Iran also has allies in Iraq, where you've done much reporting over the years. And Iranian proxies in Iraq are saying that the United States has attacked them. What's going on there?

ARRAF: Yeah. Let's not forget about Iraq. The U.S. says it struck, in what it called self-defense, a main base of a group called Kataib Hezbollah near Baghdad. It says it was targeting the launch of an attack drone that it believed was headed for U.S. forces. That group isn't related to Lebanese Hezbollah, but it is backed by Iran as well and very powerful.

The resistance - the so-called resistance, the Iran-backed militias - are holding emergency meetings to determine a response. And as for U.S. forces, they were on their way out. They're coming to an agreement with Iraq on leaving the country and leaving some troops here in a new arrangement. But this certainly does complicate things to say the least.

INSKEEP: Daniel Estrin, I've got to come back to you here. And our main news story of all the unbelievable number of new stories we have here - the killing of the Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh inside Iran - I would imagine that Ismail Haniyeh had some significant role in the effort to bring a cease-fire in Gaza, where his group has been fighting with Israel. What does the assassination mean for those talks?

ESTRIN: Well, sure, he was the No. 1 Hamas contact for the cease-fire mediators for Egypt and Qatar, so this may significantly delay cease-fire talks for some time. And, you know, with his assassination, we now believe that three of the four top Hamas leaders are now either killed or presumed killed. There was a Hamas official killed in Beirut. There was another Hamas official presumed to be killed in Gaza. That only leaves one of the top four - Yahya Sinwar, the head of the Gaza's militant wing - alive.

And I should just add, Steve, that one political analyst from Gaza that I spoke to, Mukhaimer Abu Saada, says that the assassination of this Hamas leader - he was seen as one of the more moderate leaders of Hamas, and he says that killing Hamas leaders in the past has led to more radical leaders filling Hamas' leadership.

INSKEEP: Yahya Sinwar, of course, is one who's been reported to be in favor of continuing the fighting. NPR's Daniel Estrin in Tel Aviv, NPR's Jane Arraf in Beirut, thanks for your insights and your long experience. I really appreciate it.

ARRAF: Thank you, Steve.

ESTRIN: Thank you, Steve. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.