Iran is holding a military drill in the north of the country, Mehr news agency reported on Tuesday, with the region bracing for Tehran’s avowed retaliation against Israel over the killing of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last month. The drill was taking place on Tuesday evening from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. local time (1600 to 1700 GMT) in Iran’s Gilan province on the Caspian Sea. It was designed to boost the defensive readiness of the naval forces, Mehr cited a local official as saying.
It is Iran’s second reported military drill in three days. Iran has vowed to retaliate against Israel after the assassination of Haniyeh on July 31 in Tehran. Iran blamed Israel for the killing. Israel has not claimed responsibility. The killing has triggered threats of revenge by Iran against Israel, which is fighting Hamas militants in Gaza, raising fears of a wider West Asia war.
The United States has communicated to Iran and Israel that conflict in the Middle East must not escalate, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said drawing a line. This even as the Pentagon warned that it would not tolerate attacks against its forces in the region. The Middle East is bracing for a possible new wave of attacks by Iran and its allies following the killing of senior members of terror groups Hamas and Hezbollah.
The Pentagon has said it will deploy additional fighter jets and Navy warships to the Middle East as Washington seeks to bolster defenses in the region.
This at a time when Palestinian terror group Hamas has asked mediators to present a plan based upon previous talks instead of engaging in new negotiations for a Gaza ceasefire deal. This move has cast doubts on the terror organisation’s participation in a meeting called by the mediators tomorrow. Last week, leaders of the United States, Egypt and Qatar urged Israel and Hamas to meet for negotiations on Aug. 15 in either Cairo or Doha to finalize a Gaza ceasefire and hostage-release deal.
Team Bharatshakti
(With inputs from Reuters)
