Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian said at a meeting with Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu that Tehran will definitely retaliate against Israel for the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh. Pezeshkian said his country “in no way seeks to expand the scope of war and crisis” in the Middle East. At the same time, Israel “will definitely receive a response for its crimes and insolence,” the Financial Times quoted the Iranian president as saying.
According to the Guardian, the Iranian authorities summoned foreign ambassadors in Tehran and warned that they considered it a “moral duty” to punish Israel for the death of Haniyeh in the Iranian capital. On July 30, he arrived in Tehran for Pezeshkian’s inauguration and was killed by a direct missile strike the next morning, according to Al Hadath and Al Arabiya. According to The New York Times, the cause of Haniyeh’s death was a bomb planted in a house where he had stayed more than once. Iran has held Israel responsible for the incident, the country has neither confirmed nor denied its involvement.
Iran’s acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani said in a meeting with foreign ambassadors that Haniyeh’s killing was a “violation of Iran’s territorial integrity” that “cannot go unanswered.” Iranian state television has also stepped up its coverage of the crisis, emphasizing the necessity of a response, the FT noted.
Axios wrote that the US and Israel expect a retaliatory strike by Iran on August 5. Sky News Arabia cited a different date, August 13, as the date of the “Ninth of Av” (Tish’a be’av), a mourning day in the Jewish calendar commemorating a series of catastrophes in Jewish history.
An Israeli official told NBC that the country is preparing for a multi-day drone and rocket attack by Iran and Hezbollah. According to Ynet, Israel is considering a preemptive strike to thwart Tehran’s attack.