'A US win': Haniyeh killing plunges Biden diplomacy into chaos but shows Iran's vulnerability

The killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran has thrust the US into the thorny position of scrambling to prevent a regional war from erupting after an assassination exposed the vulnerability of its most potent Middle Eastern foe: Iran.

Iran and Hamas blamed Israel for Wednesday's brazen assassination of Haniyeh, who was in Tehran for the swearing-in of Iran’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian. The strike came hours after Israel said it killed senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut.

After nine months of Israel's war on Gaza, Biden administration officials are now seasoned at the diplomatic cleanups necessitated by Israeli missile and drone strikes in Middle Eastern capitals. 

Secretary of State Antony Blinken quickly distanced the US from the strike, saying: "This is something we were not aware of or involved in.”

Israel has ramped up its shadow war with Iran since 7 October when the war in Gaza broke out, with many analysts and diplomats saying Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears to be openly courting a wider war.

The US was able to brush off Israel’s killing in January of senior Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri in Beirut. The next spike in regional tensions saw the US flex its air defence capabilities, shooting down drones and missiles Iran fired in a choreographed attack on Israel in response to its strike on its consulate in Damascus, Syria.

But the last 24 hours have thrust the US and its ally into uncharted territory.

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