Washington, Aug 4 (UNI) US and Israeli officials expect Iran to strike Israeli territory on Monday amid the escalation of the conflict, the Axios portal reported, citing three sources.
US officials expect Iranian retaliation to be similar to attack on Israel in mid-April, but potentially larger in scope, as Lebanese movement Hezbollah could also be involved, the publication said.
On Wednesday, Palestinian movement Hamas reported the death of its political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, as a result of an Israeli strike on his residence in Tehran, where he arrived to attend the inauguration of the new Iranian president. The movement blamed Israel and the United States for Haniyeh's death and said that the attack would not go unanswered.
Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin claimed he had nothing to say about the death of Haniyeh and Israel's alleged involvement. Israeli military officials, in turn, said they were "not responding to media reports" about Haniyeh's assassination. The Jerusalem Post reported that Israeli officials had instructed ministers not to speak out about the murder of the Hamas leader.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov called Haniyeh's death an absolutely unacceptable political assassination that might provoke further escalation in the region.
The New York Times claimed, citing sources, that Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei had ordered a direct strike on Israel in response to Haniyeh's assassination in Tehran. Iran's UN Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani later told the Security Council that Tehran, in accordance with international law, reserved the right to self-defense to respond to Haniyeh's assassination whenever it deems it necessary. He also said that the assassination would not have happened without US intelligence support for Israel. Iran's UN mission also called on the Security Council to impose sanctions on Israel for acts of aggression.
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