(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) The Biden-Harris administration refuted claims it handed Iran a list of the Israeli agents who led the killing of notorious Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.
The allegations, first reported by Kuwaiti newspaper Al Jarida and then picked up by Israeli outlet The Jerusalem Post, originate from an unnamed “senior source” within the Iranian Supreme National Security Council.
“This is categorically false,” said a U.S. National Security Council spokesperson in remarks to The Jerusalem Post.
Haniyeh, one of the Hamas leaders behind the terrorist attack against Israel on Oct. 7, was killed on Aug. 31 on Iranian soil while inside a suite. He was in the West Asian country for the inauguration of a new Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
The Hamas mastermind was killed by an explosive device that had been reportedly planned in the guesthouse before his arrival, reported the New York Times.
Al Jarida dubiously claimed that U.S. officials, in meetings mediated by Oman, a country in the Middle East, provided a list of “the names of the 10” Israeli agents who orchestrated Haniyeh’s assassination.
No other outlet has corroborated these claims, prompting critics to question the credibility of Al Jarida’s report. They also criticized The Jerusalem Post for repeating the report without further verification.
“There is absolutely zero percent chance this happened. This is stunningly irresponsible ‘journalism,’” writer Laura E. Adkins posted on X. She is the senior director of Jewish Women International. “Any responsible editor would require independent sourcing of a claim this major.”
Kassy Akiva, a conservative journalist with the Daily Wire, chimed in, saying she needed “another source to verify this.”
There is absolutely zero percent chance this happened. This is stunningly irresponsible “journalism” https://t.co/YibsuY6Gqy
— Laura E. Adkins (@Laura_E_Adkins) August 14, 2024
Writer and X personality Yashar Ali agreed. “It is so absurd and irresponsible to publish this nonsense, especially given the sourcing and where it’s been picked up from. Of course, it’s spreading like wildfire,” he wrote.
While Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed on Aug. 6 that the U.S. had communicated directly with Iran that an escalation of the conflict in the Middle East is not in their interest, offering a list of the individuals behind one of the most consequential killings on Iranian soil would be extremely rare.
Headline USA reached out to The Jerusalem Post for comment. Due to the timing of this article’s publication and the time zone difference with Israel, a response was not expected.
Editor’s Note: This is a developing story. Please check back later for updates.
