DUBAI: Top Iranian officials will meet representatives of Iran's regional allies from Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen on Thursday to discuss potential retaliation against Israel following the assassination of a Hamas leader in Tehran, five sources told Reuters.
The region faces the risk of widening conflict between Israel, Iran and its proxies after the killing of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on Wednesday and the killing of a top Hezbollah commander on Tuesday in an Israeli strike on the outskirts of the Lebanese capital Beirut.
Representatives of Iran's Palestinian allies Hamas and Islamic Jihad, as well as Yemen's Tehran-backed Houthi movement, Lebanon's Hezbollah and Iraqi resistance groups will attend the meeting in Tehran, said the sources, who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue. .
“Iran and members of the resistance will conduct a thorough assessment after the meeting in Tehran to find the best and most effective way to retaliate against the Zionist regime (Israel),” said a senior Iranian official with direct knowledge of the meeting.
Another Iranian official said Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and senior members of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards will attend.
“What is being looked at now is how Iran and the resistance front will respond… It will definitely happen and the Zionist regime (Israel) will definitely regret it,” General Mohammad Baqeri, the army chief of staff, told state television on Thursday. Iran.
Iran and Hamas blamed Israel for the strike that killed Haniyeh hours after he attended the inauguration of Iran's new president in Tehran on Wednesday.
But Israeli officials did not claim responsibility for the attack, which prompted threats of retaliation against Israel and heightened concerns that the Israeli-Hamas conflict in Gaza is turning into an all-out war in the Middle East.
The head of the Israeli Air Force, Tomer Bar, speaking at a military graduation ceremony in Israel on Wednesday night, warned that Israel will act against anyone who plans to harm its citizens.
“We are also very well prepared in defense. “Hundreds of air defense personnel, along with air control personnel, are deployed across the country with the best systems ready to perform their mission,” Barr said.
Haniyeh and Islamic Jihad leader Ziad Al-Nahl, as well as senior officials from Yemen's Tehran-backed Houthi movement and Lebanon's Hezbollah, attended the inauguration of Iran's new president in Tehran on Tuesday. Hezbollah Deputy Chief Naim Qasim and MP Hassan Fadlallah were in Iran for the inauguration and stayed for the funeral and meeting, sources familiar with Hezbollah's thinking said.
“Serious Consequences”
The armed wing of Hamas said Haniyeh's killing would “take the battle to a new level and have serious consequences.” Vowing to retaliate, Iran said the US was responsible for supporting Israel.
“Iran asked key commanders of Iraqi resistance groups to travel to Tehran on Wednesday for an urgent meeting to discuss measures to respond to recent Israeli strikes, including in Lebanon and Iran, and US strikes in Iraq,” a local Iraqi militia commander said.
Another militia source said the commanders of the resistance groups had left to attend Haniyeh's funeral as well as take part in an “urgent high-level meeting” to decide the next steps to retaliate against Israel and the US.
Iranians mourned Haniya on Thursday, a day after his assassination.
“All resistance fronts will avenge Haniyeh's blood,” Ali Akbar Ahmadian, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, told Iran's semi-official Mehr news agency.
Here, the Iran-backed Resistance includes Hamas, the Palestinian group that ignited the war in Gaza by attacking Israel on October 7, Lebanon's Hezbollah, Yemen's Houthis, and various Shiite armed groups in Iraq and Syria. .
On April 13, Iran launched a barrage of missiles and drones at Israel in retaliation for what it believed was a deadly Israeli strike on its embassy in Damascus on April 1, but nearly all were shot down.
“Iran's response to the killing of Martyr Haniyeh will be stronger than before,” former senior Revolutionary Guard commander Esmail Kosari told state television.
