Hamas head Ismail Haniyeh was killed by a guided missile that tracked his cell phone, his son Abdussalam Haniyeh told Saudi Arabia state media Al Arabiya Friday from Doha, Qatar, in an interview.
Haniyeh was killed in Tehran on July 31, and it was reported by the New York Times and independently confirmed by the Jerusalem Post that an explosive device was planted in his room months before he was killed.
The bomb was hidden in June and used cutting-edge remote technology that was also used in the killing of Iran nuclear chief Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, according to the report and the Post’s sources.
Haniyeh’s son told Al Arabiya that this was not the case. “I think the story of an explosive device is completely baseless," he said. "There were bodyguards and other advisers sitting in a room a few meters away from his room, so it's clear that if there were an explosive device, the whole place would be blown up," he added.
"It was a guided missile that tracked his mobile phone that he had placed at night in his room near his head, which was directly hit," Haniyeh said to Al Arabiya.
Haniyeh stated that his father had been using his phone constantly and even used it at 10:15 p.m. the same night he was killed.
Attending a ceremony in Tehran
"My father was attending an official ceremony, and he was carrying his mobile phone, so the operation was not very complicated," Haniyeh stated as he explained why his father was an easy target.
“He was in a country to attend the inauguration of the president [Massoud Pezeshkian] along with other delegations, so the security measures cannot be compared to those taken in a hidden area without cell phones,” he explained.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) had initially reported that a short-range projectile carrying about 7 kilograms (15 pounds) of explosive material was fired from outside the building.
Haniyeh concluded the interview by suggesting that he believes the airstrike was carried out with American "cover," Al Arabiya reported.Iran has blamed the attack on Israel and has vowed to retaliate, however, Israel has not taken responsibility. The United States has also not confirmed or denied any involvement in the assassination.
Yonah Jeremy Bob contributed to this report.