Iran to postpone Israel's response to Hamas leader elimination: Details
Illustrative photo: Iran postpones strike on Israel (Getty Images)
Iran is likely to delay its planned "retaliation" against Israel after the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. The reason is the ongoing ceasefire negotiations in Gaza, according to The New York Times.
The agency recalled that American, Israeli, Egyptian, and Qatari officials met on Friday in the Qatari capital, Doha, for talks aimed at resolving differences between Israel and Hamas.
After the talks, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani called Iran's acting Foreign Minister, Ali Bagheri Kani. According to the publication's sources, the Qatari official urged Iran to refrain from any actions that could lead to escalation.
The day after the talks, Israeli intelligence observed a decrease in the combat readiness of Iran and Hezbollah's missile units, according to sources familiar with the situation, as reported by The New York Times.
However, the publication's sources added that their assessments are changing rapidly due to "the fluidity of events."
As NYT notes, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has recently toughened the conditions for a ceasefire in Gaza. In particular, he demands that Israeli forces remain on the border between Gaza and Egypt to prevent Hamas militants from receiving new weapons.
Assassination of Haniyeh
On July 31, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran. He had traveled to Iran to attend the inauguration of President Masoud Pazeshkian.
The Iranian authorities immediately blamed Israeli intelligence services for the incident. According to Iranian officials, a missile strike allegedly hit the guest house where Haniyeh was staying.
Western media, citing their own sources, reported that Haniyeh was killed by a bomb planted in the guest house several months before the incident.
For more details about the assassination of the Hamas leader, read the RBC-Ukraine report.
