Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has accused the US of supporting the attack that killed Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh and has again called for retaliation as tensions in the Middle East grow.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said a short-range projectile was behind the killing of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh and accused the United States of supporting the attack which it blamed on Israel, amid fears the war in Gaza could escalate into a wider Middle East conflict.
The conflict in the Middle East, however, has now entered a new phase in the wake the assassination of Haniyeh’s in Tehran a day after an Israeli strike in Beirut killed Fuad Shukr, a senior military commander from the Lebanese group Hezbollah, which like Hamas is backed by Iran. The deaths have increased the risk of a dangerous escalation in Israel’s Gaza war and of a regional conflagration between Israel, Iran and its proxies. It indicates that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is determined to shift the war’s rules of engagement, moving beyond Gaza to directly eliminate Hamas leaders and strike Iran proxies elsewhere, officials and analysts in the region said.
Two Iranian sources said that Haniyeh’s killing sent shockwaves through Iran’s top leadership, who are now deeply concerned that their security forces were infiltrated by Israel. There is also growing anxiety about their arch-foe’s ability to reach and assassinate high-ranking Iranian officials.Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said avenging the killing is Iran’s “duty” as it occurred in the Iranian capital. Israel had provided the grounds for harsh punishment for itself, he said.
“This Israeli attack on Haniyeh is embarrassing for Iran. It is a strike at the heart of Iranian leadership; it is a strike at the security and intelligence establishment,” Adeeb Ziadeh, an expert in international affairs at Qatar University who has studied Hamas said.Iran would have to respond to make up for what was a major security shortcoming, Ziadeh said, adding: “This is a powerful and harsh hit to Iran.
Protesters hold signs and flags during a demonstration calling for a hostages deal and against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government.Meshaal narrowly survived an assassination attempt ordered by Netanyahu in 1997.
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