Iran has dismissed appeals from the U.S. and Arab nations to temper its response following the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
This development follows the announcement from Iranian officials regarding investigations into the security failures that permitted the attack.
Iranian leaders have vowed to retaliate, indicating to Arab diplomats on Saturday that the potential for conflict does not concern them, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The U.S. has urged partner nations in Europe and beyond to deliver a message to Iran to avoid escalating tensions, stressing that any significant retaliation would provoke a response and that new Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s attempts to improve relations with the West would be better appreciated if Iran exercised restraint, as reported.
IDF REPORTS ‘SUSPICIOUS AERIAL TARGETS’ ENTERED ISRAEL FROM LEBANON BEFORE BEING INTERCEPTED
Ismail Haniyeh, leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, addresses journalists following his meeting with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri in Beirut, Lebanon, on June 28, 2021. (AP)
U.S. officials indicated that they have also been urging Israel to lower tensions.
While no group has taken responsibility for the attack on Haniyeh, both Iran and Hamas have blamed Israel for the operation.
Jordan’s foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, visited Tehran on Sunday to discuss ways to ease tensions, as reported by The Wall Street Journal. In April, Jordan intercepted projectiles that had entered its airspace aimed at Israel during a drone and missile attack by Iran on the Jewish State, and Jordan has signaled it might repeat such actions.
“Anyone who intends to breach our skies will be met with resistance,” Safadi stated last week. “Jordan will not serve as a battlefield. We face numerous potential repercussions.”
Israel has asserted its readiness to defend itself and respond to any retaliatory actions.
BIDEN TO CONVENE NATIONAL SECURITY TEAM AHEAD OF EXPECTED IRANIAN STRIKE ON ISRAEL
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, right, greets Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh at the beginning of their meeting at the President’s office in Tehran, Iran, on Tuesday, July 30, 2024. (AP)
“Israel is currently engaged in a multifront battle against the Iranian axis of evil,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared on Sunday. “We are equipped for every possible scenario, whether defensive or aggressive. I reiterate to our adversaries: We will respond and impose a severe cost for any act of hostility against us, from any front.”
While attending the inauguration of Iran’s new president, Haniyeh was killed by a bomb at an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps guesthouse, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.
Iran and Hamas have disputed the claim that a bomb killed Haniyeh, arguing instead that he was hit by a missile. Israel has not offered any public remarks regarding the assassination.
Iran’s judiciary deputy chief, Sadeq Rahimi, stated on Saturday that the public prosecutor’s office has launched an investigation into Haniyeh’s assassination and has ordered the identification and arrest of anyone who was negligent or complicit in collaborating with Israel for the attack, according to the local Fars news agency, affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
“Whether Israel has engaged infiltrators, human agents, or directly committed this crime is under investigation,” Rahimi mentioned, as reported by Mehr news, which also has ties to the IRGC.
Ismail Haniyeh addresses a press conference in Tehran, Iran, on March 26, 2024. (Majid Asgaripour/West Asia News Agency/Reuters)
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Tehran officials have remarked that the attack revealed significant intelligence oversights by Iran’s security agencies. “There are deficiencies and contamination within the country’s security information system,” Ahmad Bakhshaish Ardestani, a member of Iran’s Parliament’s foreign affairs and national security commission, told Iran’s Didban news site.
Israel has heightened its military readiness, while U.S. officials have been coordinating with military assets and regional allies to prepare for possible retaliatory actions.
“We are ready for any scenario, similar to our preparedness before the attack on April 13 when Iran targeted Israel, and the United States, along with a coalition of our partners, collaborated with Israel to thwart that attack,” U.S. deputy national security adviser Jon Finer stated to ABC News on Sunday.
The Wall Street Journal contributed to this report.
