Fears of wider war not holding Iran back as it prepares response to Haniyeh assassination

Alameen Templeton
Iran is still preparing for a punishing attack against Israel over its cowardly assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, telling neighbours it’s “unconcerned” retaliation may start a regional war.

The Wall Street Journal reports Teheran has rejected American and Arab requests to tone down its reply.

The US warned through its allies any major strike could provoke a response.

It also dangled a carrot before new President Masoud Pezeshkian of “enhanced engagement with the West”, it Iran demonstrated restraint, but Teheran wasn’t buying it.

Washington also claimed that it was urging “Israel” to de-escalate.

It’s a very different scenario to the last time Iran prepared a missile response to Israel’s assassination of a top commander in its Lebanon embassy compound. Then, it gave plenty of warnings to Israel, its neighbours and allies.

This time around, there’s no cooperation. The Wall Street Journal says “Iran has refused to provide detailed warnings that would help mitigate the impact of any strike”.

Al Mayadeen‘s cited an informed Iranian source as saying that Iran considers Haniyeh’s assassination to be one of its red lines that was crossed, “regardless of the details of the operation,” indicating that it will handle the response accordingly.

That is why “Iran will respond in a way that crosses the red lines set by the Israeli occupation,” the informed source affirmed.

“Iran will not yield to pressures and messages of de-escalation because any abandonment of retaliation will open the door to more Israeli aggressions.”

Kazem Gharibabadi, the Deputy Chief for International Affairs of the Iranian Judiciary, warned the occupation/annexation  would face severe repercussions  to ensure “it would not dare to commit further acts of terrorism or violate Iran’s sovereignty”.

The response would be “more decisive than Operation True Promise,” referring to Iran’s April 13 retaliation to the Israeli aggression that targeted the Iranian consulate in the Syrian capital Damascus on April 1.

The Israeli airstrike killed General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, who led the elite Quds Force in Lebanon and Syria until 2016, according to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. It also killed Zahedi’s deputy, General Mohammad Hadi Hajriahimi, and five other officers.

Gharibabadi described the Israeli action as “an act of terrorism that defies international resolutions,” arguing it revealed not Zionist strength, but impotence.

Also speaking Sunday, Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf vowed Israel and the US “will regret their actions and will be forced to change their calculations”.