Iran threatens – USA moves more warships and fighter jets to the Middle East

In the Middle East, there are increasing signs of an impending retaliatory strike by Iran against Israel. According to media reports, Iran is blocking diplomatic attempts to prevent an escalation with the risk of a regional war following the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniya in Tehran.

While Israel’s army is on high alert, the US is deploying additional warships and fighter planes to the region as a deterrent, according to the Pentagon. Both allies are preparing to defend against an attack that could take place as early as this weekend, the Wall Street Journal reported. There are fears that an attack this time will be broader and more complex than Iran’s attack on Israel in April.

At that time, Tehran attacked the Jewish state with 330 rockets, cruise missiles and drones. However, only after Iran had signaled its intention to diplomats in advance and given Israel and the USA time to prepare, as the Wall Street Journal noted. In the end, Israel was able to intercept most of the missiles on its own and with the help of the USA and other allies. This time, Israel and its allies acted “in a vacuum,” the US newspaper wrote. The lack of information and thus of predictability has put the entire region in the Middle East in one of the most dangerous moments since the war in the Gaza Strip began in October.

Report on arrests in Iran after attack on Haniya

As the New York Times reported, citing two Iranians familiar with the investigation, more than two dozen people were arrested in connection with the fatal attack on Hamas leader Haniya in Tehran. Among them were high-ranking intelligence officers, military officials and employees of the military-run guesthouse where Haniya was staying. As the newspaper The Telegraph reported, citing two Iranian officials, Israel’s foreign intelligence service Mossad hired two Iranian security agents for the attack.

They placed explosives in three rooms of the guesthouse. The agents then fled abroad, but were in contact with a source on site. At 2 a.m. on Wednesday, they then remotely detonated the explosives from abroad in the room where Haniya was staying. Israel has not yet commented on Haniya’s death. Hamas and Iran have blamed Israel for the attack and are threatening massive retaliation.

Reports: Iran rejects all mediation attempts

The demand for a peaceful solution by “friendly and non-friendly” states is unacceptable for Tehran after the targeted killing of the political leader of the ally Hamas, Haniya, in Tehran, the news portal Iran Nuances quoted informed sources as saying. “Israel has crossed all red lines,” the Wall Street Journal also quoted an Iranian diplomat as saying. “Our response will be swift and tough,” said the diplomat. Even the mediation attempts would not diminish Iran’s determination to retaliate, according to the Iran Nuances report on the X platform. The USA will nevertheless continue to work with allies and partners to de-escalate the tense situation in the region, the Pentagon further announced.

In the event of an attack, Israel is threatening Iran with a far harsher response than after Iran’s attack in April. At that time, Israel held back in its response to the aggression at the request of the USA and other allies, said Israel’s national security adviser Zachi Hanegbi in an interview with “Bild” and other Axel Springer media. “This is a new situation now. You can hold back once, not twice,” he said. In view of the worsening situation, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin informed his Israeli counterpart Joav Galant about a reorganization of the USA’s military capacities in the region, as Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh announced.

USA increases military presence

The aim is to support Israel’s defense and to be able to respond to the “developing crisis” in the region, the spokeswoman said. To this end, US Defense Secretary Austin ordered the deployment of additional destroyers with the ability to defend against ballistic missiles and another fighter squadron to the region. In addition, steps are being taken to “increase readiness to deploy additional land-based ballistic missile defenses,” the Pentagon said in a statement.

Meanwhile, according to human rights activists, Israel’s military attacked Hezbollah targets in the border region between Lebanon and Syria. Israel hit a weapons depot with rockets and a militia headquarters, Lebanese activists and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Israel does not usually comment on attacks in the neighboring country.

Activists: Israel attacks Hezbollah on Syria’s border

However, Israel regularly attacks targets of the Iranian-allied militias there. A large proportion of Iranian weapons also reach Hezbollah in Lebanon via Syria, which has been exchanging fire with the Israeli army almost daily since the start of the Gaza war ten months ago. Hezbollah says it is acting in solidarity with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. After the killings of Haniya and the high-ranking Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut, fears of a military conflict between Israel and Iran and its allies such as Hezbollah are growing in the region.

Such a threat was already looming after April 14, when the Iranian Revolutionary Guard fired hundreds of drones and missiles at Israel. The background to the attack was an attack on the Iranian embassy in the Syrian capital Damascus, which was attributed to Israel and in which two Iranian generals were killed at the beginning of April. Israel had responded with a counterattack on an air force base in central Iran, to which Teheran had declared that it no longer wanted to pursue the matter. Israel’s security adviser Hanegbi warned Iran in an interview with “Bild” against a new attack.

Israel threatens Iran: An attack would be a mistake

“Attacking Israel is something they will pay a very painful price for. Hopefully they won’t. It would be a mistake. Israel is very strong,” said Hanegbi. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had made similar comments in recent days. He does not believe that the region is on the verge of war, said Hanegbi. Iran does not want a full-scale war. US President Joe Biden was “very concerned” on Thursday. He said he had a “very direct” phone call with Netanyahu.

The killing of Haniya “did not help” the negotiations for a ceasefire in the Gaza war, said the US president. The attacks on Haniya and Shukr had recently raised fears that the indirect negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza would come to a standstill. Netanyahu has approved the sending of a delegation to further talks in Cairo, the Israeli Prime Minister’s office announced. The delegation will leave for the Egyptian capital this evening or on Sunday, it said.