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- August 23, 2024
- 3:51 pm
- Middle East
The apparent failure of a cease-fire and hostage-release deal in Gaza has raised concerns that a major escalation in the Middle East is on the horizon. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited the Middle East this week to help broker a deal, but he left without reaching any major agreement, and Israel and Hamas are still at odds over key issues, reports Brad Dress, a military reporter for The Hill.
The cease-fire talks were among the factors that apparently held Iran back from retaliating against Israel for the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last month. But now that the cease-fire appears to be on the verge of collapsing, Iranian leaders may feel more urged to strike Israel, while the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah may also launch an attack from Lebanon.
John Hanna, a senior fellow at the Jewish Institute for National Security in America (JINSA), said Iran would likely take a measured approach to any response to Israel.
Earlier, an IRGC spokesman said Iran's response to “Israel's assassination of a Hamas leader” in Tehran could take a long time, indicating Iran would not rush into the expected retaliation that has raised fears of a regional war in the Middle East.
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