Boiling hatred is engulfing the region, drowning out all rational calculations about war and peace
The assassination of Haniyeh while he was in Tehran for the inauguration of the new president is a humiliation for Iran
It is still too early to know with what degree of force Iran and Hezbollah will retaliate. Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Tuesday that Israel had provided the grounds for “harsh punishment for itself” and it was Tehran’s duty to avenge the Hamas leader’s death as it had occurred in the capital of Iran. “We consider his revenge as our duty,” Khamenei said, adding that he was “a dear guest in our home”.
Qatar, which has been brokering talks aimed at halting the conflict in Gaza along with Egypt, condemned Haniyeh’s killing as a dangerous escalation. “Political assassinations and continued targeting of civilians in Gaza while talks continue leads us to ask, how can mediation succeed when one party assassinates the negotiator on the other side?” asked Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the United States knew nothing about the killing of Haniyeh which he said made it all the more important to reach a deal to ease civilian suffering, free hostages held by Hamas and prevent the conflict from escalating. “This is something we were not aware of or involved in,” he said about the death of Haniyeh, but he will find few believers in the region where governments and people alike see the US as the essential facilitator of the Israeli war effort.
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