Iranian President Masoud Peseshkian said at a meeting with Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu that Tehran would definitely respond to Israel for the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh. According to Peseshkian, his country "in no way seeks to expand the scale of the war and crisis" in the Middle East. At the same time, Israel "will definitely receive an answer for its crimes and insolence," the Financial Times quotes the Iranian president.
According to the Guardian, the Iranian authorities summoned foreign ambassadors in Tehran and warned that they consider it a "moral duty" to punish Israel for the death of Haniyeh in the Iranian capital. On July 30, he arrived in Tehran for Pezeshkian's inauguration, and the next morning, as Al Hadath and Al Arabiya wrote, he was killed as a result of a direct missile hit. According to The New York Times, the cause of Haniyeh's death was a bomb planted in the house where he stayed more than once. Iran blamed Israel for the incident, the country did not confirm or deny its involvement.
Acting Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani said at a meeting with foreign ambassadors that Haniyeh's murder was a "violation of Iran's territorial integrity" that "cannot go unanswered." Iranian state television has also stepped up its coverage of the crisis, emphasizing the need for a response, the FT notes.
Axios wrote that the US and Israel expect a retaliatory strike from Iran on August 5. Sky News Arabia cited another date — August 13, when the "Ninth Ava" (Tish'a be-av) will come, a mourning day in the Jewish calendar dedicated to a number of catastrophes in the history of the Jews.
As an Israeli official told NBC, the country is preparing for a multi-day attack by drones and missiles from Iran and Hezbollah. According to Ynet, Israel is considering a preemptive strike to disrupt Tehran's attack.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant said that the country, as at the time of the Iranian April attack, is counting on US assistance "in forming a coalition of allies and partners to protect Israel and the region from a number of air attacks." The deputy adviser to the American president for national security, John Feiner, promised to involve allies if necessary. The United States has sent an aircraft carrier strike group, additional cruisers and destroyers to the Middle East, RBC said.