Iran rejects call from Western countries to drop threats against Israel

Iran on Tuesday rejected Western calls to back down from threats against Israel, saying it would not seek “authorization” to retaliate against its arch-enemy, which it accuses of assassinating Palestinian Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on its soil.

The White House said that if an Iranian attack were to occur, “it could certainly impact talks” scheduled for Thursday on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, where war was triggered on October 7 by an unprecedented attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas on Israeli soil.

US President Joe Biden and his counterparts from France, Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom had called on Tehran on Monday evening to “renounce its threats of a military attack against Israel”.

“Such a demand, lacking political logic, is totally contrary to the principles and rules of international law”, reacted the spokesman for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nasser Kanani, on Tuesday.

Iran and its regional allies in Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen have been threatening Israel with armed reprisals since the assassination on July 31 in the Iranian capital of the leader of Hamas, which they blamed on Israel, and that, the day before, of Fouad Chokr, the military leader of the pro-Iranian Lebanese Hezbollah, killed in an Israeli strike near Beirut.

“The Islamic Republic is determined to defend its sovereignty” and “it does not seek permission from anyone to use its legitimate rights,” Mr. Kanani added.

– “Series of attacks” –

Washington, which has strengthened its military presence in the Middle East in recent days, has indicated that it is anticipating “a series of significant attacks” that could occur as early as “this week” by Iran and its allies.

The subject was raised during a meeting on Monday between President Joe Biden and the leaders of France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom. All have warned of the “serious consequences” of an attack on regional security.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer both called for a de-escalation in phone calls with the Iranian president.

But “Iran will never give in to pressure, sanctions, and coercion,” the latter said, according to Iran's official IRNA news agency.

“The new momentum for a ceasefire offers Iran a way out of this cycle of escalation,” said Esfandyar Batmanghelidj, managing director of the Bourse & Bazaar Foundation think tank.

– “No delay” –

Palestinians mourn the body of a relative killed in a strike before his funeral in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on August 12, 2024 © AFP – Bashar TALEB

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Meanwhile, international pressure is mounting for a truce in the Gaza Strip as Israeli bombardments continue in the besieged Palestinian territory where the war has caused a humanitarian catastrophe and displaced nearly all of its 2.4 million people.

“Iranian officials still feel compelled to retaliate against Israel, but they must do so in a way that does not derail the prospects” for a ceasefire, he added.

France, Germany and the United Kingdom said Monday that “there can be no further delay” in negotiating a ceasefire in the besieged territory.

These statements follow Hamas's request on Sunday to implement the three-phase plan presented by Joe Biden at the end of May for a ceasefire in Gaza, “rather than conducting more negotiations or bringing new proposals.”

Cloud of smoke caused by a strike above a village in southern Lebanon, August 9, 2024 © AFP – Rabih DAHER

A few days ago, the mediating countries – Egypt, Qatar and the United States – called for discussions to resume on Thursday on a truce associated with the release of the hostages. Israel gave its agreement but Hamas for its part did not clearly say whether it would participate.

On May 31, the American president announced a plan, presented as emanating from Israel, initially providing for a six-week truce accompanied by an Israeli withdrawal from densely populated areas of Gaza and the release of hostages against Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas, which seized power in Gaza in 2007 and which it considers a terrorist organization along with the United States and the European Union, after the attack on its soil killed 1,198 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli data.

Children sit in front of a mountain of rubble after a bombing in Nousseirat, in the center of the Gaza Strip, on August 12, 2024 © AFP – Eyad BABA

Of the 251 people kidnapped, 111 are still being held in Gaza, including 39 who died, according to the army, whose toll does not take into account statements Monday by the armed wing of Hamas that its fighters “killed a hostage.” Her death, as well as the fact that “two female” hostages were injured, will be the subject of an “investigation”, according to the movement.

The Israeli retaliatory offensive in Gaza has left at least 39,897 dead, according to data from the Health Ministry of the Gaza government, led by Hamas, which does not detail the number of civilians and fighters killed.

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