‘Iran still considering scope of retaliatory attack on Israel’

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Tehran is still considering the scope of its response to the suspected Israeli assassination of a top Hamas leader in Iran, US officials say. 
A retaliatory strike from Iran to the killing of Ismail Haniyeh was widely expected on Sunday or Monday.
Multiple US officials told CNN that the US still expects an attack in the coming days but it remains unclear whether it will be led by Tehran or its proxy, Hezbollah.
The officials said Iran is still believed to be deliberating the scope of its response. In the meantime, Hezbollah may choose to act alone, one US official and one western intelligence official told CNN.
The US and its allies have been engaged in hasty efforts to pressure Iran to change course and avoid the war escalating.
More than a thousand British troops are on standby for the evacuation of UK nationals from Lebanon as the Middle East braces of an attack on Israel by Iran and its proxies over the twin assassinations of Hezbollah and Hamas leaders. 
Here is a rundown of the day’s main stories:
More than a thousand British troops are on standby for the evacuation of UK nationals from Lebanon as fears mount of a major escalation in the Middle East.
Hundreds of personnel from three services, including the Royal Marines, have been deployed to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, while hundreds more are ready to be deployed to the region.
The risk is so severe, The Times reports, that the military has prepared for an evacuation on the same scale as the operation to rescue Brits and Afghans from Kabul during the Taliban takeover in 2021.
The UK has already moved warships and helicopters to the eastern Mediterranean to brace for a possible two-wave attack on Israel by Iran and its proxies over the twin assassinations of Hezbollah and Hamas leaders.
Countries have been desperately urging their citizens to get out of Lebanon and Iran this week as US security chiefs warned an attack was imminent.
Israel has vowed to kill Yahya Sinwar, the architect of Oct 7, after he was announced the new overall leader of Hamas after the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh.
Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari told Al-Arabiya: “There is only one place for Yahya Sinwar, and it is beside Mohammed Deif and the rest of the October 7 terrorists. That is the only place we’re preparing and intending for him.”
Israel announced last week it had killed Deif, the leader of Hamas’s military wing, in an air strike in July.
US intelligence believes Iran’s pledged attack on Israel is likely to come on Thursday or Friday after a delay by Tehran as it considered its options, sources briefed on the matter told the Saudi state-owned Al Arabiya.
American defence officials warned on Sunday and Monday that the strike would occur within 24 hours.
However, neither Iran nor Hezbollah have so far retaliated for the back-to-back assassinations of senior militant leaders.
Benjamin Netanyahu has told his citizens to “stay calm and composed” amid fears of an imminent attack by Iran and its regional proxies.
Visiting an army recruitment base in central Israel, the prime minister said: “We are continuing forward to victory. I know that Israeli citizens are on alert, and I ask you one thing – stay calm and composed.
“We are prepared for both defense and offense, we are striking our enemies and are also determined to defend ourselves,” he told troops, who he referred to as the “backbone of the nation”.
אנחנו ערוכים בעוצמה – בהגנה ובהתקפה. היום הייתי עם המתגייסים החדשים שלנו בבקו״ם. אתם הגב שלנו ואנחנו מצדיעים לכם ונותנים לכם גיבוי מלא. תמיד. pic.twitter.com/KVwidh0dql
Iran’s president told Emmanuel Macron that if the US and the West truly wants to prevent a war, they must force Israel to stop the conflict in Gaza.
Israel must accept a ceasefire, Masoud Pezeshkian said in a call with the French leader.
“Iran will never remain silent in the face of aggression against its interests and security,” Mr Pezeshkian added, according to Iranian state media.
Israeli forces on Wednesday issued new evacuation orders to Palestinians in areas of northern Gaza that were among the first to be hit at the start of the war with Hamas in October.
The order applies to several districts in Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya, two now largely demolished towns into which Israeli tanks swept at the outset of Israel’s ground invasion.
Avichay Adraee, an IDF spokesman, said: “Hamas and terrorist organisations are firing rockets from your area towards the State of Israel.
“The IDF will act forcefully and immediately against them,” he added. “For your own safety, evacuate immediately to the known shelters in the center of Gaza City.”
War-weary Gazans have voiced their concerns after Hamas appointed Yahya Sinwar as its new supremo, fearing his past as the group’s military commander might hamper efforts for the ceasefire they yearn for.
In central Gaza city of Deir el-Balah, Mohammad al-Sharif, 29, said: “We don’t know how Hamas is thinking or what led them to choose Yahya Sinwar as their chief, especially when his whereabouts are unknown.
“He is a fighter. How will negotiations take place?” asked the displaced man originally from Gaza City, adding: “We want nothing but the end of the war”.
Another Gazan, Ibrahim Abu Daqa, 35, added: “In my opinion, appointing Yahya Sinwar as the head of Hamas was inappropriate at this critical stage”
Late on Tuesday, Hamas announced it had chosen Sinwar, 61, the masterminded of Oct 7, to replace Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated in Tehran on July 31.
Sinwar has not been seen since the attack on Israel, with many reports claiming he is operating from one of several underground tunnels in Gaza.
Iran is bolstering its air defences with more radar systems and missile and drone interceptors, according to the IRNA state news agency.
The Iran-backed “axis of resistance” against Israel has threatened retaliation after losing two major figures last week in attacks either blamed on or claimed by Israel.
But who are the main members?
Hezbollah
Lebanon’s Hezbollah, the most powerful “axis of resistance” group, has traded near-daily cross-border fire with Israel since the start of the Gaza war.
Hezbollah, or “Party of God” in Arabic, was founded during the 1975-1990 Lebanon civil war after Israel’s 1982 ground assault on Beirut.
Created at the initiative of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, the group fought Israeli troops who occupied south Lebanon until 2000.
Hezbollah has expanded the size and quality of its arsenal since it last fought an all-out war with Israel in 2006 and is  considered to have a bigger arsenal than the army.
Hamas
Iran has made the Palestinian cause a centrepiece of its foreign policy since the Islamic revolution of 1979.
Hamas was created shortly after the first Palestinian uprising erupted in 1987, and has ruled the Gaza Strip since 2007.
In recent years, the group improved its relations with Iran and gradually became a key “axis of resistance” member.
Iraq ‘resistance’ groups
Several Iraqi Shiite Muslim groups are also aligned with Iran and hostile to the US, which still maintains troops in Iraq as part of its campaign against the Islamic State.
In the first few months of the Gaza war, these armed groups, which have formed a loose alliance known as the Islamic Resistance of Iraq, targeted US forces in the country in support of the Palestinians, before suspending their attacks in late January.
The alliance, whose main groups have been integrated into Iraq’s armed forces, has also claimed drone and rocket attacks on Israel.
Yemen’s Houthis
The Houthi rebels seized Yemen’s capital of Sana’a and most of the north in 2014 after quickly rising in size.
Since November, they have waged a campaign of attacks against commercial vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden that they say are linked to Israel, triggering retaliatory strikes by the US, UK and other allies.
The rebels have also claimed attacks on Israel, some of them joint operations with Iraqi groups.
On July 20, Israel struck the rebel-controlled Red Sea port of Hodeida, a day after a Houthi drone attack killed a civilian in Tel Aviv.
Am Israeli drone struck a vehicle in the southern Lebanese town of Jouaiyya, according to Lebanese media reports.
One person is said to have been killed and four others injured in the alleged attack.
There has been no immediate comment from Israel.
British ministers have called for all British nationals in Lebanon to leave now “as situation could deteriorate rapidly”, warning that commercial air travel may soon be stopped.
David Lammy, Foreign Secretary, added in a statement: “Tensions are high, and the situation could deteriorate rapidly. While we are working round the clock to strengthen our consular presence in Lebanon, my message to British nationals there is clear – leave now.”
Rumours of a possible evacuation operation from Lebanon have given German citizens there a false sense of security, a German foreign ministry spokesperson said on Wednesday, urging them to leave the country immediately.
“The time now has come to leave Lebanon,” the spokesperson said, calling on citizens to organise their own exit even if this means travelling via Turkey or paying high prices for flights.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said that at least 39,677 people have been killed in the war between Israel and Palestinian militants, which passed 10 months on Wednesday.
The toll includes 24 deaths in the past 24 hours, according to ministry figures, and also list 91,645 people as having been wounded in the Gaza Strip since the war began when Hamas militants attacked Israel on Oct 7.
The ministry does not distinguish between civilian and combat deaths and Israel disputes its figures.
Israel immediately admitted to the US that it was behind the attack which killed Hamas’s political chief in Tehran, “enraging” the White House, according to reports. 
Biden administration officials viewed the assassination as a major setback in their careful, months-long negotiations to end the war in Gaza, The Washington Post reported, citing people briefed on the matter.
Israel has still not publicly claimed nor denied the killing of Ismail Haniyeh on Iranian soil. Hamas announced on Tuesday that Yahya Sinwar, the terror group’s leader in Gaza and architect of the Oct 7 attacks, would replace Haniyeh as its political head.
US officials were also said to be outraged that Israel failed to inform them before launching other operations to assassinate senior militant leaders, including the Beirut strike on a Hezbollah commander.
Top US security chiefs have said they are working “around the clock” urging Israel and Iran to avoid escalating the conflict, while moving more American troops into the region. 
Yoav Gallant, Israel’s defence minister, said he held an “important” call with his German counterpart over the threats posed by Iran and its proxies. 
He thanked Boris Pistorius “for standing with Israel”.
“The free world must come together against the biggest destabilizer and exporter of terrorism – Iran,” Mr Gallant added.
Held an important discussion with my friend, German Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius. Briefed the Minister on security developments and threats posed by Iran and its proxies against Israel and the wider region. Thank you Minister, for standing with Israel. The free world…
Turkey will file a request with a United Nations court on Wednesday to join South Africa’s genocide lawsuit against Israel, a Turkish official said.
The declaration of intervention will be submitted at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, the official added.
Turkey, one of the fiercest critics of Israel’s actions in Gaza, will become the latest nation to seek to participate in the case.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s president, has frequently accused Israel of committing genocide, called for it to be punished in international courts and criticized Western nations for backing Israel.
In May, Turkey suspended trade with Israel, citing its assault on Gaza.
Ambassadors from Western countries including the UK and US will skip a ceremony marking the 79th anniversary of an atomic bomb being dropped on Nagasaki after Israel was snubbed.
Nagasaki’s mayor said last week that Gilad Cohen, Israel’s ambassador, was not invited to Friday’s event in the southern Japanese city because of the risk of possible protests over the Gaza conflict.
The US and British embassies said on Wednesday their ambassadors would not take part as a result, and instead lower-ranking diplomats would be sent.
Australia, Italy, Canada and the EU are expected to follow suit.
Rahm Emanuel, the US ambassador, will not attend “after the mayor of Nagasaki politicised the event by not inviting the Israeli ambassador”, an embassy spokesman said.
Iran may have been persuaded to abandon its original attack plans on Israel after hasty US diplomatic efforts and its military show of force in the region, a senior Biden official has said.
“Iran understands clearly that the United States is unwavering in its defense of our interests, our partners and our people. We have moved a significant amount of military assets to the region to underscore that principle,” the unnamed official told The Washington Post.
Washington’s messages to Tehran this week have focused on the risk posed by an escalation and the major consequences it could have on the stability of President Masoud Pezeshkian’s new government.
Although Iran has tried to claim Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas’s political chief, was killed by a missile, Biden officials said the regime has privately accepted that a bomb was placed in his room, which might aid in provoking a lesser response.
However, Iran-backed Hezbollah remains a “wild card”, sources said.
The leader of Hezbollah vowed on Tuesday that the Lebanese militant group would strike back against Israel with a “strong” response in retaliation for the dual assassinations of Hezbollah and Hamas leaders.
“What is required is confrontation,” Hassan Nasrallah said during his much-anticipated speech.
Iran and Hezbollah were “obliged to respond” to the killings, he said “whatever the consequences”.
“Our response will come, God willing…and it will be strong,” Mr Nasrallah added.
Calling for calm in the Middle East, top US national security leaders said Tuesday that they and allies are directly pressing Israel, Iran and others to avoid escalating the conflict.
Antony Blinken, US secretary of state, said at the close of a meeting with Australian leaders: “It’s urgent that everyone in the region take stock of the situation, understand the risk of miscalculation, and make decisions that will calm tensions, not exacerbate them.”
But as they called for restraint, the US moved more troops to the region and threatened retaliation if American forces were attacked.
Referring to a rocket attack on American forces in Iraq by an Iran-backed militia group, Lloyd Austin, defence secretary, made it clear that the US won’t hesitate to respond.
“Make no mistake, the United States will not tolerate attacks on our personnel in the region. And we remain ready to deploy on short notice to meet the evolving threats to our security, our partners or our interests,” he said.
Yahya Sinwar will be the new political leader of Hamas following the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
Sinwar is the military leader of Hamas in Gaza and has been running the war against Israel from an underground bunker.
Viewed by the Israelis as the orchestrator of the October 7 attacks, he has been labelled a “dead man walking” by military chiefs.
Commenting on the appointment of Sinwar to Saudi outlet Al-Arabia, Daniel Hagan, the Israel Defense Forces spokesman, said there is “only one place for Yahya Sinwar, and it is beside Mohammed Deif and the rest of the Oct 7 terrorists. That is the only place we’re preparing and intending for him”.
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Hezbollah launched a series of drone strikes into northern Israel on Tuesday as it warned more was to come in its much-anticipated retaliation for the killing of a top commander last week.
The Lebanese militant group claimed its “explosive-laden drones” targeted a barracks near the city of Nahariya, while Israel reported several civilians were injured.
An explosion on a highway, that critically injured a civilian, was initially believed to have been caused by a drone launched by Hezbollah, however Israel’s military later said it was caused by a Iron Dome interceptor missile missing its target and hitting the ground.
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