Middle East crisis: Hezbollah will strike first, not Iran, Israeli officials warn

CNN quoted several officials as saying that Iran is still working on how to respond. A US military official told CNN that Iran has made some preparations, but not all.

A second source familiar with the intelligence said that given Lebanon’s proximity to Israel in the north, Hezbollah could act without notice. He said it was unclear how coordinated Iran and Hezbollah were about a potential attack. Some officials believe the two are not fully in agreement on how to proceed.

Iran, its Lebanese ally Hezbollah and Palestinian group Hamas have blamed Israel for the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniya in Tehran last week. Iran has vowed to avenge Haniya’s murder. Haniya’s murder took place just hours after the assassination of Hezbollah’s military chief Fuad Shukr near Beirut.

Israel has taken responsibility for Shukar’s murder, but has not officially commented on Haniya. It is worth noting that Iran supports both Hezbollah and Hamas.

OIC ‘s big statement
Meanwhile, according to AFP, top Muslim diplomats said on Wednesday that Israel is ‘fully responsible’ for the ‘heinous’ killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran. They warned that this could lead to instability in the region. The announcement was made at the end of an extraordinary meeting of the Saudi Arabia-based Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which was partly called by Iran.

Pezeshkian’s appeal
According to The Times of Israel, a report by Iran International said that President Masoud Pezeshkian has appealed to the country’s supreme leader to avoid a direct attack on Israel. He warned that if the attack escalates, Israel could destroy infrastructure and energy targets and cripple the economy.