Dubai: Senior Iranian officials are scheduled to meet representatives of Iran's regional allies in Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen on Thursday to discuss potential retaliation against Israel following the killing of a Hamas leader in Tehran, five sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on Wednesday and the killing of a senior Hezbollah commander in an Israeli airstrike outside the Lebanese capital Beirut on Tuesday have brought the region to the brink of an escalation in the conflict between Israel, Iran and their proxies.
Representatives of Iran's Palestinian allies Hamas and Islamic Jihad, Yemen's Tehran-backed Houthi movement, Lebanon's Hezbollah and Iraqi resistance groups are expected to attend the meeting in Tehran, according to the sources, who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue.
“Iran and 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,” a senior Iranian official with direct knowledge of the meeting said.
Another Iranian official said Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei Ayatollah and senior officials of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps would attend.
“We are currently considering how Iran and the Resistance Front will respond… This will definitely happen and the Zionist regime (Israel) will undoubtedly regret it,” Iran's military chief of staff, General Mohammad Baqeri, told state TV on Thursday.
Iran and Hamas have accused Israel of carrying out the airstrike that killed Haniyeh, hours after he attended the inauguration of Iran's new president in Tehran on Wednesday.
But Israeli officials have not claimed responsibility for the attack, which has prompted threats of retaliation against Israel and heightened fears that the Israeli-Hamas conflict in Gaza could escalate into an all-out war in the Middle East.
Israel Air Force Chief of Staff Tomer Barr addressed a military graduation ceremony in Israel late Wednesday, warning that anyone who tries to harm Israeli citizens will be punished.
“We are also very well prepared for defense. We have hundreds of air defense personnel and air control personnel stationed across the country, equipped with the best systems and ready to do the job,” Barr said.
Haniyeh and Islamic Jihad leader Ziad al-Nakala, senior representatives of Yemen's Tehran-backed Houthi movement and Lebanon's Hezbollah attended the inauguration of Iran's new president in Tehran on Tuesday. Hezbollah's deputy leader Naim Qassim and lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah were in Iran for the inauguration and stayed for the funeral and the meeting, a source familiar with Hezbollah's thinking said.
'significant repercussions'
Hamas's armed wing said in a statement that Haniya's killing would “take the fighting to a new level and have a huge repercussion.” Iran, which has vowed revenge, said the United States should be held accountable for supporting Israel.
“Iran has asked key Iraqi resistance commanders to travel to Tehran on Wednesday for an emergency meeting to discuss retaliation for recent Israeli airstrikes, including those in Lebanon and Iran, and US airstrikes in Iraq,” a local Iraqi militia commander said.
Another militia source said resistance commanders had left to attend Haniya's funeral and attend an “emergency supreme meeting” to decide on retaliatory measures against Israel and the United States.
Iranians gathered to mourn Haniyeh on Thursday, a day after his assassination.
“All fronts of the resistance will avenge Haniya's blood,” Ali Akbar Ahmadiyyan, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, told Iran's semi-official news agency Mehr.
The Iran-backed axis of resistance includes Hamas (the Palestinian group that launched the Gaza Strip war by attacking Israel on October 7), Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, and various Shiite militant groups in Iraq and Syria.
On April 13, Iran launched missile and drone strikes against Israel in retaliation for the Israeli attack on its embassy in Damascus on April 1, but almost all of them were shot down.
“Iran will respond more strongly than before to the assassination of martyr Haniyeh,” former Revolutionary Guard commander Esmail Kosari told state TV.
