Tehran says it will ‘harshly punish’ Israel for the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on its soil, in an attack that could last three or four days.
By JNS
Joe Biden delivered another “don’t” when asked by reporters what his message to Iran was as the U.S. president was walking out of a church and entering his vehicle in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware on Saturday.
Tehran has vowed to retaliate against the Jewish state for the targeted killing of Hamas terror leader Ismail Haniyeh in the Iranian capital on July 31. Jerusalem has not taken responsibility for the assassination, but the Islamic Republic and Hamas have attributed it to Israel.
Biden previously said “don’t” to deter Israel’s enemies in the days after the Oct. 7 Hamas-led massacre in the northwestern Negev. The president also used the word to warn Iran against an attack against Israel in mid-April.
Iran’s Lebanese terror proxy Hezbollah has carried out near daily cross-border attacks since Oct. 8, and Tehran launched more than 300 missiles and drones at Israel the day after Biden’s previous warning.
Meanwhile, Iran appears intent on going ahead with its second-ever direct attack on Israel, with the timing and nature of the retaliation still uncertain.
Hezbollah has also vowed to attack Israel, in retaliation for the July 30th targeted killing of senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut, for which Jerusalem took responsibility. The assassination was in retaliation for a Hezbollah rocket strike on a soccer pitch that killed 12 children in the Golan Druze town of Majdal Shams.
Ahmed Bahsheesh Ardestani, a member of the National Security Committee of the Iranian Parliament, said overnight Saturday that “the air operations of the Islamic Republic against Israel may last for three to four days,” according to the London-based Iran International news agency.
Ardestani added that Tehran “is ready to accept the consequences of such an attack and will be ready for any further developments.”
An Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps deputy commander, Ali Fadavi, was quoted by Iranian media on Friday as saying that Israel will receive a “harsh punishment” for the Haniyeh assassination.
“The supreme leader’s orders regarding the harsh punishment of Israel and revenge for the blood of martyr Ismail Haniyeh are clear and explicit … and they will be implemented in the best possible way,” he said.
Asked by reporters to respond to Fadavi’s remarks, U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the United States was ready to defend Israel.
“When we hear rhetoric like that we’ve got to take it seriously, and we do,” Kirby said.
Should an Iranian attack take place, Jordan will allow Israel to use its airspace to fend off any aerial threats, a Jordanian official told Channel 12 on Saturday.
“We will allow Israel to repel the Iranian attack in our airspace,” the official said, adding that “it stems from a security interest and this is the policy, just as in April Jordan helped Israel stop the Iranian attack. It is ultimately an ally of the United States.”
The inter-Arab news site, Arab Post, also reported from Jordanian security sources that “the authorities in Jordan have informed Israel that they will allow its air force to intercept the expected Iranian attack in the kingdom’s airspace.”
The sources added: “There is security, military and intelligence coordination between Jordan and Israel regarding the expected Iranian response, which ensures that the Israeli Air Force is authorized to participate in intercepting potential Iranian attacks that may pass through the kingdom’s skies.”
The reports contradict Jordan’s public declarations in the media that it won’t allow its airspace to be used by any party.
On April 13, the Royal Jordanian Air Force participated in a coalition that helped shoot down most of the 300 missiles and drones fired towards Israel as part of Iran’s first-ever direct attack on the Jewish state.
Amman, a frequent and harsh critic of Israel’s war against Hamas, intercepted dozens of drones hurtling through its airspace towards Israel.
Meanwhile, Lebanese media reported on Saturday that Arab states, including Qatar, have sent messages to Iran and Hezbollah to delay or cancel the planned attacks at least until after Gaza ceasefire and hostage release negotiations take place in either Doha or Cairo on Aug. 15.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations said on Friday that the response to Israel is “a matter totally unrelated” to the attempts to broker a ceasefire in the 10-month war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
“However, we hope that our response will be timed and conducted in a manner not to the detriment of the potential ceasefire,” the mission said when asked if Tehran would delay the attack until after the ceasefire talks.
“Our priority is to establish a lasting ceasefire in Gaza; any agreement accepted by Hamas will also be recognized by us,” said Iran’s U.N. mission in New York.
U.S., Egyptian and Qatari leaders released a statement on Aug. 8 calling jointly for an immediate conclusion to talks between Israel and Hamas about a ceasefire and hostage release agreement.
“It is time to bring immediate relief both to the long-suffering people of Gaza as well as the long-suffering hostages and their families,” the three stated. “The time has come to conclude the ceasefire and hostages and detainees release deal.”
The statement, signed by Biden, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, called on both sides to resume urgent talks on Aug. 15 in either Doha or Cairo.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office stated almost immediately that it would send a negotiating delegation next Thursday. “Pursuant to the proposal by the U.S. and the mediators, Israel will—on Aug. 15—send the negotiations team to a place to be determined in order to finalize the details of the implementation of the framework agreement,” it said.