Iran could be rethinking retaliation against Israel – Politico

Washington does not believe an attack by Tehran to be imminent, officials have told the outlet

Iran could be reconsidering its plans to carry out “a multi-pronged attack” on Israel in response to the killing of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh, Politico has reported, citing senior US officials.

Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran a week ago, hours after attending the inauguration of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. Following the incident, Iran promised to inflict “harsh punishment” on Israel, which has neither denied nor acknowledged any role in the killing. Washington expected a large-scale missile and drone strike on the Jewish state at the beginning of this week, but the attack has not so far materialized.

The outlet claimed in an article on Wednesday that the reason for this was the diplomatic efforts by the administration of US President Joe Biden, which has been engaged in intense diplomacy in recent days to ensure that American allies in the Middle East lobby Tehran to reconsider its plan to strike Israel.

According to two high-ranking US officials, who talked to Politico, Washington warned Tehran through intermediaries that “a massive strike would only inflame tensions and risk a direct confrontation between the two countries.”

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The Iranian authorities initially rejected the US argument that Haniyeh’s killing did not require a large-scale response because it was caused by a bomb planted in a covert operation, and was not part of a larger attack on Iran, the sources said. But now Tehran is “increasingly on board” with such an interpretation of events, they claimed.

Another argument used by Washington was the fact that no Iranian citizens were killed in the attack on the Hamas political chief, the officials added.

"Tehran seems to have re-calibrated and the US does not expect an attack on Israel imminently,” the sources said. However, they added that “some kind of Iranian response” to Haniyeh’s assassination should still be expected.

The Washington Post reported on Tuesday that Israel only informed the US of the Hamas political chief’s assassination after the fact, which caused “surprise and outrage” in the White House.

Speaking at the extraordinary meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, Iran’s acting foreign minister, Ali Bagheri Kani, called Haniyeh’s killing “only one example of the terrorist crimes of the Israeli regime in the region and beyond.”

READ MORE: US ‘pressing everyone’ in Middle East to de-escalate – Blinken

With the US preventing the UN Security Council from taking “appropriate action... against the aggressions of the Israeli regime, Iran has no choice but to use its inherent right to legitimate defense,” the diplomat insisted.