Hamas chief assassination: Iran pledges to punish Israel, but softens tone

By Arsalan Shahla, Alberto Nardelli, and Fiona MacDonald

Iran reiterated it wants to avoid all-out war with Israel, even as it threatened to retaliate for last week’s assassination of a leading Hamas figure in its capital.
 

Tehran, which had already vowed revenge for the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, said it aimed to deter Israel from repeating similar moves. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied being responsible for his death.

“Reinforcing stability and security in the region will be achieved by punishing the aggressor and creating deterrence against Israel and its adventurism,” a spokesperson for Iran’s foreign ministry told reporters on Monday in Tehran.

The Islamic Republic doesn’t want to escalate tensions but has the right, within the framework of international law, to punish Israel, he added.

The comments come as Group of Seven and regional officials rush to avert a wider conflict.

G-7 members have reached out to Iran to try to ensure its retaliation isn’t serious enough to spark a regional war, according to people familiar with the matter.

Jordan’s foreign minister made a rare trip to Tehran over the weekend and Qatar, which has mediated between Iran and the US in the past, has also been in contact with the Islamic Republic, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.

Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu, also visited Iran for talks with new President Masoud Pezeshkian and other officials on Monday. It was unclear if Shoigu, regarded as one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest allies, urged Tehran to temper its response to Israel.

Nasser Kanaani, the spokesperson for Iran’s foreign ministry, warned of “consequences” for any country supporting Israel, an apparent threat to the US and its allies as they rally to defend the Jewish state. General Michael Kurilla, head of Central Command, which oversees US forces in the Middle East, was in Israel on Monday for talks, an official briefed on the visit said.

The Israeli shekel fell for sixth day to 3.83 per dollar as of 4:30 p.m. in Tel Aviv, its weakest level since November. Israeli stocks slid to their lowest since April, though that was also because of a global rout in equity markets.

Israel is in a “multi-front war against Iran’s axis of evil,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday. “We are striking every one of its arms with great force. We are prepared for any scenario — both offensively and defensively.”

The US, which is moving a fighter jet squadron to the region and keeping an aircraft carrier nearby to help Israel, is pressing Netanyahu to redouble efforts to reach a cease-fire deal with Hamas over their war in Gaza. The US and Arab states believe an end to fighting in the Palestinian territory would calm the region.

G-7 foreign ministers spoke on Sunday about the risks of a regional war. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said there was an “urgent need for de-escalation.”

Blinken told his G-7 counterparts that an attack on Israel by Iran and Hezbollah could begin as early as Monday, Axios reported.

Haniyeh was killed just hours after a deadly air strike in Beirut against Fuad Shukr, a senior Hezbollah commander. Israel said it was responsible for that hit and blamed Shukr for organizing a rocket attack on a Druze town in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights that killed 12 children and teenagers playing football.

Hezbollah, which has been skirmishing with Israel across Lebanon’s border since the war in Gaza started in October, has also threatened to retaliate against the Jewish state. The Shiite group may act in coordination with Iran, its sponsor.

Tensions Ramp Up in the Middle East
 

Retaliatory strikes between Israel and Iran and its allies have increased since a July 19 drone attack by Houthis in Tel Aviv.

Iran and Israel exchanged fire in April when Tehran accused its arch enemy of striking a consulate building in Syria. Iran launched 300 drones and missiles at Israel. Yet it effectively telegraphed the move in advance, helping Israel and its partners — including the US, France, UK and Jordan — intercept almost all the projectiles and ensuring they caused little damage.

Israel, under pressure from the US and Europe not to respond aggressively, launched a limited strike on an Iranian airbase.

This time, Iran’s revenge may be more fierce, given the sheer embarrassment of having a foreign dignitary assassinated in the heart of its capital. Its options range from another direct assault on Israel to getting its proxies to step up attacks on the country to hitting Israeli targets across the world.

Hamas and Hezbollah are both designated terrorist organizations by the US and are part of what’s often called Iran’s ‘Axis of Resistance,’ a group of anti-Israel and anti-US militias in the Middle East.

The war in Gaza erupted when Hamas fighters swarmed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 hostage. Israel’s subsequent offensive on Gaza has killed around 40,000 Palestinians, according to health officials in the Hamas-run territory.