Iran is set to carry out an order by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to “harshly punish” Israel over the assassination of a Hamas leader in Tehran, an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps deputy commander was quoted as saying on Friday by local news agencies.
“The supreme leader’s orders regarding the harsh punishment of Israel and revenge for the blood of martyr Ismail Haniyeh are clear and explicit … and they will be implemented in the best possible way,” said Ali Fadavi, cited by Iranian media.
Iran and Palestinian Islamist terror group Hamas accuse Israel of carrying out Haniyeh’s assassination on July 31. Israel has not claimed or denied responsibility for the killing, which has fueled further concern that the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip was turning into a wider Middle East conflict.
Asked by reporters to respond to Fadavi’s remarks, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said the US was ready to defend Israel with plenty of resources in the region, adding: “When we hear rhetoric like that we’ve got to take it seriously, and we do.”
Iran’s mission to the United Nations said later on Friday that Tehran’s response to Israel’s assassination of Haniyeh was “a matter totally unrelated” to efforts to broker a ceasefire in the 10-month war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
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“However, we hope that our response will be timed and conducted in a manner not to the detriment of the potential ceasefire,” the mission said when asked if Iran could delay its retaliation until after hostage-for-ceasefire negotiations next week.
Ali Fadavi, deputy chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, delivers a speech during a protest in support of Palestinians following a round of fighting between Israel and Palestinian terrorists, in Tehran, on August 9, 2022. (Atta Kenare/AFP)
The United States, Egypt and Qatar on Thursday called on Israel and Hamas to meet for negotiations on August 15 in Doha or Cairo to finalize a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal. Israel has said it would attend, while a Hamas official told Reuters the group was “studying” the new offer for talks.
“Our priority is to establish a lasting ceasefire in Gaza; any agreement accepted by Hamas will also be recognized by us,” Iran’s UN mission in New York said.
“The Israeli regime has violated our national security and sovereignty through its recent act of terrorism. We have the legitimate right to self-defense — a matter totally unrelated to the Gaza ceasefire,” it said.
“Direct and intermediary official channels to exchange messages have always existed between Iran and the United States, the details of which both parties prefer to remain untold.”
Asked about the Iranian reports, a spokesperson for the US State Department said: “We don’t want to speculate on what actions the Iranian regime will take.”
The spokesperson said the United States had been in constant contact with partners in the region and beyond, and added: “In those conversations, we’ve heard a clear consensus: no one should escalate this conflict.”
“We’ve been engaged in intense diplomacy with allies and partners who are communicating that message directly to Iran. We communicated that message directly to Israel,” the spokesperson said.
A family carries the Palestinian flag and portraits of assassinated leader of the Palestinian terror group Hamas Ismail Haniyeh as Iranians attend a memorial ceremony at a mosque in Tehran, on August 9 2024. (AFP)
The ongoing war in Gaza was started by Hamas’s devastating October 7 attack on souther Israel, during which Palestinian terrorists killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 hostages.
The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than 39,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting so far, though the toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters. Israel says it has killed some 15,000 combatants in battle and some 1,000 terrorists inside Israel during the October 7 attack.
Israel’s toll in the ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza and in military operations along the border with the Strip stands at 331.
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