An absurd rumor circulated online on Wednesday suggesting that U.S. officials had provided Iran with the names of agents from Israel‘s Mossad foreign intelligence service. Specifically, the identity of agents who were involved in the July 31 killing of Ismail Haniyeh.

A top Hamas leader, Haniyeh, was killed when Mossad agents detonated a bomb that had been hidden in his Tehran guest house. The rumor was first circulated by Kuwait’s al-Jarida newspaper more than a week ago. It was amplified by a Fox News guest writer on Monday and then by the Jerusalem Post on Wednesday. The rumor should never have made it beyond al-Jarida. As I noted on X, there are a few very basic reasons why this rumor was always prima facie absurd.