Iran has rejected calls from the United States and Arab countries to be cautious in its response to the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
This comes after Iranian authorities said they were investigating the security breach that led to the attack.
Iranian leaders have promised retaliation and reportedly told Arab diplomats on Saturday that they would be happy if retaliation led to war. The Wall Street Journal.
The report said the United States urged European and other partner governments to send a message to Iran not to escalate tensions, stressing that any significant attack would invite retaliation and that new President Massoud Pezechkian’s efforts to improve ties with the West would be better received if Iran showed restraint.
The Israel Defense Forces said a “suspicious aerial target” crossed the border from Lebanon before being shot down by Israeli forces.
Ismail Haniyeh, leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, spoke to reporters after meeting with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri in Beirut, Lebanon, June 28, 2021. (Associated Press)
In their messages, U.S. officials said they were also urging Israel to de-escalate.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack on Haniya, but Iran and Hamas have accused Israel of carrying it out.
Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi visited Tehran on Sunday to discuss ways to ease tensions, The Wall Street Journal reported. In April, Jordan intercepted Israeli-bound missiles that entered its airspace during Iran’s drone and missile attacks on Israel, and indicated it would do the same this time.
“We will confront anyone who tries to violate our airspace,” Safadi said last week. “Jordan will not be a battlefield. We will face many consequences.”
Israel said it was ready to defend itself and respond to any retaliatory attack.
Biden to meet with national security team ahead of Iran attack on Israel
Iranian President Massoud Pezechkian, right, shakes hands with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh at the start of a meeting at the Presidential Palace in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, July 30, 2024. (Associated Press)
“Israel is now fighting a multi-front war with an axis of evil that is Iran,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday. “We are prepared for every scenario, both defensive and offensive. We reiterate to our enemies that any act of aggression against us, from any field, will be responded to and will exact a heavy price.”
According to the Wall Street Journal, Haniyeh, who was in Tehran to attend the inauguration of Iran’s new president, was killed in a bomb attack while staying at an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps guesthouse.
Iran and Hamas dispute that Haniyeh was killed in a bomb attack, saying he was killed in a missile strike. Israel has not officially commented on the killing.
Iran’s Deputy Attorney General Sadegh Rahimi said on Saturday that the country’s prosecutor had opened an investigation into Haniya’s assassination and ordered the identification and arrest of those responsible for the killing or who knowingly collaborated with Israel, according to the Fars News Agency, a local news agency controlled by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards.
“It is under investigation whether Israel used infiltrators, human agents, spies or committed this crime directly,” Rahimi said, according to Mehr News Agency, which is close to the IRGC.
Ismail Haniyeh spoke at a press conference in Tehran, Iran, on March 26, 2024. (Majid Asgaripour/West Asia News Agency/Reuters)
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Politicians in Tehran say the attack exposed intelligence failures by Iran’s security services. Ahmad Bakhshaish Ardestani, a member of the Iranian parliament’s foreign affairs and national security committee, told Iranian news site Didvan that “there are flaws and contamination in the country’s security information system.”
Israel has put its military on high alert and U.S. officials are readying military assets and regional partners to thwart any attacks.
“We are prepared for all possibilities, as was the case when Iran attacked Israel and the United States on April 13, our coalition of partners and allies worked with Israel to thwart that attack,” US Deputy National Security Adviser John Finer said. ABC News on sunday.
The Wall Street Journal contributed to this report.
