Iran may be rethinking launching a multi-pronged attack on Israel in response to the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, head of the political bureau of the Palestinian movement Hamas, Politico writes, citing US officials.
"The officials said they do anticipate some kind of Iranian response to the Haniyeh killing, but that Tehran seems to have recalibrated and the US does not expect an attack on Israel imminently," the media outlet writes, AFP reports.
According to Politico, two senior US officials said that the Washington administration "has in recent days worked through diplomatic channels, bringing in its Middle East allies to lobby Tehran to reconsider moving forward with a military attack on Israel." "Tehran is increasingly on board with Washington's thinking, though it initially denied it," Politico notes, citing the officials.
Tensions in the Middle East flared up again after the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and the killing of Fuad Shukr, a top commander of the Lebanon-based Hezbollah movement, in Beirut. Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah blamed the killings on Israel, vowing to take revenge.
