TEHRAN, Aug 1 (NNN-IRNA) – Iran would seek revenge for the alleged Israeli assassination of Hamas Politburo Chief, Ismail Haniyeh, in a “well-managed” way, without escalating the regional crisis, an Iranian expert said yesterday.
“We would witness an escalation of tension in the region, but in a managed way. I highly consider it unlikely, a comprehensive war would erupt,” Hassan Beheshtipour, a Tehran-based international affairs analyst, said.
Beheshtipour emphasised that, intensifying the crisis is not in Iran’s interest nor in that of the resistance groups. He noted Iran’s past actions, such as its measured response to the deadly Israeli attack on the Iranian consulate in Syria, in early Apr, as examples of Iran’s strategic approach.
Haniyeh, who was invited to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Iranian President, Masoud Pezeshkian, on Tuesday, was killed, along with his bodyguard yesterday, when their residence in Tehran was hit, according to Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, which accused Israel of carrying out the “terrorist attack” and vowed “a harsh and painful response.”
Meanwhile, Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, said, Israel had prepared the ground for a “harsh punishment” for itself.
The alleged Israeli assassination of Haniyeh occurred a day after Israel claimed that a strike in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, that killed Fouad Shokor, Hezbollah’s top military commander.
Yesterday, the Zionist Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said, the regime will respond with overwhelming force to any counter-attacks, following the deaths of Haniyeh and Shokor.
He said, the regime is prepared “for any scenario,” adding, it “will exact a very heavy price against any aggression – from any front.”– NNN-IRNA
