![Smoke billows after the Israeli army launched an airstrike on the Al Mughraqa area in the Gaza Strip April 14, 2024.](https://turan.az/resized/news/2024/ZYKm0IP8zWxNbh4CUOzoIkrOBrQX7f7rjlPdWCsK-750-500-resize.webp)
Smoke billows after the Israeli army launched an airstrike on the Al Mughraqa area in the Gaza Strip April 14, 2024.
US issues warning to Iran of 'serious risk' if it carries out retaliatory attack against Israel: report
FOX NEWS: The U.S. has reportedly warned Iran a retaliatory attack on Israel for the recent killing of a senior Hamas leader in Tehran would pose a "serious risk" for Iran’s economy and government and likely escalate the months-long conflict between Israel and Hamas.
A U.S. official told The Wall Street Journal the U.S. has communicated to Iran that the risk of a major escalation is "extremely high" if it carries out a retaliatory attack.
The official said Tehran has been put on notice "that there is a serious risk of consequences for Iran’s economy and the stability of its newly elected government if it goes down that path."
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran late last month. Israel was immediately blamed for the assassination after pledging to kill Haniyeh and other Hamas leaders over the terrorist group’s Oct. 7 attack on the Jewish state, which killed 1,200 people and saw hundreds more taken hostage.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian meets with former Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in Tehran, Iran, Aug. 5, 2024.
Haniyeh had been in Tehran for the swearing-in ceremony of Iran’s newly-elected president, Masoud Pezeshkian.
Iran has signaled its intention to strike back at Israel, though the exact scope and timing of a potential attack are not clear. That’s in contrast to Iran’s highly anticipated missile and drone attack on Israel in April in retaliation for Israel killing a senior Iranian paramilitary commander in Syria.
Another variable at play is the Iranian proxy terrorist group Hezbollah, which has in recent months been escalating attacks on Israel near its border with Lebanon.
Earlier this week, Israel said it carried out an airstrike in southern Lebanon, killing four Hezbollah fighters.
U.S. officials have insisted that warnings to Iran concern the risks of provoking a military response from Israe and deepening the conflict, and not potential U.S. military action, per the Journal.
These developments come as Qatari, Egyptian and U.S. leaders have urged Israel to resume talks with Hamas Aug. 15.
"It is time to conclude a cease-fire agreement and release hostages and prisoners," a joint statement from the three countries Thursday sid.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will send a negotiating team Aug. 15 to finalize the details of the Gaza cease-fire framework.
The mediators said the talks would take place either in Qatar’s capital of Doha or Egypt’s capital of Cairo. Last week’s killing of Haniyeh was widely seen as a blow to cease-fire talks.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
In World
-
Russian shelling killed at least four people on Thursday in Ukraine's Donetsk region, the focal point of Russia's slow advance along the eastern part of the frontline of the 29-month-old war against Russia.
-
Ukraine pressed on with a major cross-border incursion into Russia on Friday, also launching a significant air attack on a Russian airfield hundreds of kilometres behind the front lines.
-
An important event in the U.S. vice-presidential race is that Donald Trump and Kamala Harris have agreed to participate in a debate on September 10, according to ABC television, the appointed moderator. This debate marks the first public confrontation between the two candidates since entering the race.
-
Two suspected attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels targeted a ship in the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait that links the Gulf of Aden to the Red Sea, authorities said Friday.
Leave a review