Iran must comply with an order from Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to “severely punish” Israel for the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, a deputy commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said.
“The supreme leader’s orders regarding Israel’s severe punishment and revenge for the blood of the martyr Ismail Haniyeh are clear and explicit… and will be implemented in the best possible way,” Ali Fadavi was quoted as saying by Iranian media on Friday.
Hamas political chief Haniyeh, 62, was killed in Iran’s capital Tehran in July after attending the inauguration ceremony of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
Hamas and Iran blamed Israel for Haniyeh’s death, but the Israeli government neither confirmed nor denied responsibility.
Tehran has since vowed to retaliate against Israel, which has a history of killing enemies across the region, including in Iran.
Asked by reporters to respond to the Iranian comments, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said the United States was ready to defend Israel with many resources in the region.
“When we hear rhetoric like this, we have to take it seriously, and we do,” Kirby said Friday.
Last week, the United States military also announced the deployment of additional resources to the Middle East, including an aircraft carrier, amid growing concerns about the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran.
But the US and other Western countries have also called for de-escalation. On Thursday, the US, Qatar and Egypt issued a joint statement urging Israel and Hamas to resume negotiations to reach a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
Al Jazeera senior political analyst Marwan Bishara said the US does not want a broader regional escalation so close to the November elections.
“The fact that Washington – along with other mediating countries – is pushing for ceasefire negotiations in Gaza to take place… is a sign that it wants to put as much pressure as possible on Iran and postpone a potential attack on Israel” , he said.
Bishara added, however, that the chances of Netanyahu agreeing to a ceasefire “were almost always nil”.
According to Bishara, Hamas will want real guarantees that the war will not continue, that reconstruction will be allowed and that Israeli soldiers will withdraw from the enclave.
It is also unclear whether Iran would call off its response to Haniyeh’s killing if a ceasefire in Gaza were reached.
On Wednesday, Hamas chose Yahya Sinwar, its top official in Gaza, to succeed Haniyeh as the new leader of its political bureau.
Abu Obeida, the spokesman for Hamas’ armed wing, said the Qassam Brigades support Sinwar and are “fully prepared to carry out his decisions.”
In a brief statement on Friday, Obeida said naming Sinwar as the group’s new political head proves that Hamas is “still alive and strong.”
Reporting from Amman, Jordan, Al Jazeera’s Hamdah Salhut noted that the potential resumption of ceasefire talks would mark the first round of negotiations with Sinwar serving as leader of Hamas. It is unclear how Sinwar, who is wanted by Israel and remains in an unknown location in Gaza, will be able to convey messages to mediators.
Salhut added that Netanyahu “is seen as a hardliner and has released a list of non-negotiable issues that will go to mediation.”
“So it is not yet known exactly what will come of these discussions, but there is certainly a lot of tension throughout the region that countries like the United States are trying to quell, saying that perhaps a ceasefire agreement in Gaza will promote regional stability. ,” she said.
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
