Nitin Gadkari Recalls Meeting Hamas Leader Hours Before Assassination In Iran: ‘I Was Shocked’

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari (R) recalled meeting Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh (L) hours before his shocking assassination in Tehran. (Agencies)

Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari revealed that he came into close contact with Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in 2024, hours before the latter was assassinated in Tehran, sending shockwaves through the country and dealing a powerful blow to Hamas that was embroiled in a gruelling war with Israeli forces in Gaza at the time.

On July 31, 2024, Haniyeh was assassinated in a highly secured guesthouse where he was staying after attending a swearing-in ceremony for Iran’s new president Masoud Pezeshkian. Haniyeh had been the face of Hamas’ international diplomacy amid the Israel-Hamas war. Months after the assassination, Israel Defense Minister Israel Katz admitted to Israel’s killing of Haniyeh.

Speaking at a book launch event on Wednesday, Gadkari recounted his own visit to Iran at the behest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to represent India at the swearing-in ceremony of Masoud Pezeshkian. Ahead of the ceremony, the minister said he was at a five-star hotel in Tehran where senior leaders and dignitaries from across the world had gathered informally.

‘I Was Shocked’

“All the heads of various nations were present, but one person who wasn’t a head of state was Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. I met him. I saw him going to the swearing-in ceremony along with the President and the Chief Justice,” he said.

However, the events took a dramatic turn by the time Gadkari had returned from the ceremony. “After the swearing-in ceremony, I returned to my hotel, but around 4 am, the Iranian ambassador to India came to me and said we had to leave. I asked what happened, and he told me that the Hamas chief had been assassinated. I was shocked and asked how it happened, and he said, ‘I don’t know yet'”, he said.

Iranian officials had confirmed that Haniyeh was killed while staying at a highly secured military complex in Tehran under the supervision of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). His bodyguard was also killed in the attack. Local media reported that Haniyeh’s residence was hit by an airborne projectile.

At the event, Gadkari noted that the exact circumstances of Haniyeh’s assassination remain unclear. “Some people say he was killed because of using his mobile phone. Some say it happened in some other way,” he said.

At the same time, the Union Minister emphasised that a country’s standing in international affairs depends on its strength, citing Israel as an example. He argued that when a nation is powerful, it cannot be easily challenged, describing Israel as a small state that has projected significant influence through its advanced technology and military prowess.

Mossad’s Involvement

According to a report by The TelegraphIsrael’s intelligence agency Mossad had hired Iranian security agents to plant explosives in three separate rooms of the building where Haniyeh was staying. The operation did not go ahead due to the large crowds inside the building and the high possibility of its failure, Iranian officials told the UK-based outlet

However, the two agents placed explosive devices in three rooms of the IRGC guesthouse in Tehran where Haniyeh might stay. The agents were seen moving stealthily as they entered and exited multiple rooms within minutes, said officials with CCTV footage of the building.

The operatives are then said to have snuck out of the country but had a source still in Iran. The explosives were detonated from abroad in the room where Haniyeh was staying, killing the Hamas political chief and his bodyguard.