Analysts stated that while an Iranian response is certain, Tehran’s authorities want to carefully consider how harshly they respond.
Iran’s Tehran Since Hamas politburo chairman Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran on July 31, Iran has been waiting patiently.
As a “guest” close to Iran and its “axis of resistance” was slain on Iranian soil, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior political and military figures have pledged that Israel will exact revenge for the high-profile assassination.
The way that Haniyeh and his bodyguard were killed also caused much controversy. According to the Iranian military, they were shot with a projectile, most likely a small, guided missile designed to destroy armor, from a location not too far from where they lived as foreign dignitaries in affluent northern Tehran.
The fact that Hezbollah is a major player in the Iran-led “axis of resistance,” and Israel is now allegedly targeting it by devastatingly attacking Lebanon’s infrastructure, civilian population, and infrastructure only serves to increase pressure on Iranian officials to launch a more direct retaliation.
According to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health, in the last four days, Israeli forces have murdered at least 620 people and injured thousands more throughout Lebanon. On Wednesday alone, at least 72 people were killed. Since the conclusion of its civil war about 35 years ago, Lebanon has suffered more deadly attacks than any other.A fleet of Israeli planes has unleashed thousands of bombs over Lebanon, destroying numerous homes and other civilian infrastructure, uprooting tens of thousands of people, and killing journalists and paramedics.
Iran has remained cautious as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his administration are perceived as being keen to involve the area and the US in a wider conflict. Netanyahu’s government is still killing Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank on a daily basis.
Hadi Afghahi, a West Asia analyst and former Iranian charge d’affaires to Lebanon, claims that the sharp rise in Israeli attacks on Lebanon, however, “will not be without consequence in quickening Iran’s retaliation.”
In a meeting with military commanders on Wednesday, the supreme leader made a “fiery” speech in which he claimed that Hezbollah had not been brought to its knees despite suffering significant blows. He told Al Jazeera that this was particularly true in light of the speech. “The resistance front and the Hezbollah front will belong to the final victory,” Khamenei pledged.
Iran will not linger long enough to give the enemies the impression that they may act without fear of retaliation. I believe there will be a strike shortly after the supreme leader’s address, Afghahi declared.
