Iran gathers envoys to lay ground for Israel response

Iran's foreign ministry on Monday convened a meeting of foreign ambassadors and representatives to lay down a "legal case" for retaliation it is planning against Israel for the assassination of Palestinian group Hamas' chief in Tehran last week, according to a source with knowledge of the matter.

Iran's acting foreign minister Ali Bagheri-Kani "was mostly trying to lay down the case that would justify Iran's response [to the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh]," the source said. "He said the response would be definite and decisive, but did not say when it would come or how."

The meeting came as numerous countries, in the Mideast Gulf and elsewhere, pressed on with round-the-clock efforts to try to contain the situation.

Haniyeh was killed on 31 July while in Tehran for the inauguration of Iran's new president, Masoud Pezeshkian, the day prior. State television had shown him present at the ceremony. Israel has not explicitly acknowledged its involvement. But Iranian officials have little doubt that Israel was behind the hit, particularly given rising tensions emanating from the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

"All the evidence and indications clearly show that the Zionist regime is behind this vile and despicable act," foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said today at his weekly press briefing, referring to Israel.

Jordan's foreign minister Ayman Safadi was in Tehran on Sunday, 4 August, to discuss escalating regional tensions with Bagheri-Kani.

"We want our region to live in security, peace and stability, and want the escalation to end," Safadi said.

Prior to the visit, Safadi had said Jordan would not accept being dragged into the escalation.

"If there is any escalation, our first priority is to protect Jordan and the safety of Jordanians," he said. "Anyone who wants to violate our skies, we will confront that."

Relations between Amman and Tehran have soured since Iran launched its first ever direct attack on Israel on 13 April, a response to an Israeli attack on an Iranian diplomatic compound in Syria. Jordan, which borders Israel, helped shoot down at least some of the more than 300 Iranian missiles and drones that had entered its airspace, headed for Israeli targets.

When and how?

Iranian officials are adamant that the country will retaliate for the assassination in Tehran, and will do so in a serious manner.

"When the Zionists receive a strong and decisive response, they will know that they made a mistake in their calculations," Islamic Revolutionary Guard commander in chief Hossein Salami said today.

There has been no clear indication from Iran about when it will carry out any retaliation, or what form this would take.

"The Zionist entity will receive a strike at the appropriate place and time to understand that what it has done is foolish," Salami said.

By Bachar Halabi and Nader Itayim