DUBAI: Senior Iranian officials will meet with representatives of Iran's regional allies Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen on Thursday to discuss possible retaliation against Israel following the killing of the Hamas leader in Tehran, five sources told Reuters.
The region is at risk of escalating conflict between Israel, Iran and its proxies following the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on Wednesday and the killing of Hezbollah's top commander in an Israeli strike on the outskirts of the Lebanese capital Beirut on Tuesday.
Representatives of Iran's Palestinian allies Hamas and Islamic Jihad, as well as the Tehran-backed Houthi movement in Yemen, Lebanon's Hezbollah and Iraqi resistance groups would attend the meeting in Tehran, said the sources, whose names did not want to be disclosed due to the sensitivity of the issue.
“Iran and the members of the resistance will conduct a thorough assessment after the meeting in Tehran to find the best and most effective way to take revenge on 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 Guard Corps would attend.
“How Iran and the Resistance Front will react is currently being examined… This will certainly happen and the Zionist regime (Israel) will undoubtedly regret it,” General Mohammad Baqeri, chief of staff of the Iranian armed forces, said on state television on Thursday.
Iran and Hamas accuse Israel of carrying out the attack that killed Haniyeh in Tehran just hours after he attended the inauguration of the new Iranian president on Wednesday.
But Israeli government officials have not yet claimed responsibility for the attack, which has sparked threats of revenge against Israel and fueled concerns that the conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip could escalate into a full-scale war in the Middle East.
Israeli Air Force Chief Tomer Bar warned at a military graduation ceremony in Israel late Wednesday that Israel would take action against anyone planning to harm its citizens.
“We are also well positioned in defense. Hundreds of air defense soldiers and air surveillance personnel are stationed across the country with the best systems and ready to carry out their mission,” said Bar.
Haniyeh and Islamic Jihad leader Ziad Al-Nakhala, as well as senior officials from Yemen's Tehran-backed Houthi movement and Lebanon's Hezbollah, attended the inauguration ceremony of Iran's new president in Tehran on Tuesday. Hezbollah deputy leader Naim Qassim and lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah were in Iran for the inauguration and remained there for the funeral and meeting, sources familiar with Hezbollah's deliberations said.
“Big impact”
Hamas' armed wing said in a statement that Haniyeh's assassination would “take the fighting to a new dimension and have serious consequences.” Iran vowed retaliation and said the US was responsible because of its support for Israel.
“Iran has asked key commanders of Iraqi resistance groups to travel to Tehran on Wednesday to attend an urgent meeting to discuss retaliatory measures against recent Israeli attacks, including in Lebanon and Iran, as well as the US attack in Iraq,” a local Iraqi militia commander said.
Another militia source said the resistance group commanders had left to attend Haniyeh's funeral and also to attend a “highly urgent meeting” to decide on the next steps in retaliation against Israel and the United States.
On Thursday, one day after Haniyeh's assassination, Iranians mourned him.
“All fronts of the resistance will avenge Haniyeh's blood,” Ali Akbar Ahmadian, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, told Iran's semi-official Mehr news agency.
The Iran-backed axis of resistance includes Hamas, the Palestinian group that sparked the war in Gaza by attacking Israel on October 7, Lebanon's Hezbollah, the Houthis in Yemen and various Shiite armed groups in Iraq and Syria.
On April 13, Iran launched a missile and drone attack on Israel, ostensibly in retaliation for Israel's allegedly deadly attack on its embassy complex in Damascus on April 1. However, almost all of the missiles were shot down.
“Iran's reaction to the assassination of the martyr Haniyeh will be stronger than before,” former senior Revolutionary Guard commander Esmail Kosari said on state television.
