There are all the signs that the hourglass is reaching its final grainsToday the ambassadors and heads of mission resident in Tehran were summoned for a meeting with the Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani: the aim was to definitively affirm the will to respond to Israel with retaliation. Decided by the Islamic Republic following the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in the guesthouse of the Pasdaran in Tehran. Who hosted him on the occasion of the inauguration of the new president.
“Iran will take punitive action, but it does not seek to increase tensions in the region”said Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani. He argued: “The Islamic Republic, based on its inherent right based on the principles of international law to punish the aggressor, will take serious and deterrent action with force, determination and firmness.” Observers are not unaware that the time for the raids is also looming in relation to the visit to Tehran of the secretary of the Russian Security Council Sergei Shoigu, former defense minister of Vladimir Putin, who maintains a special bond with the Iranian theocracy. Even by exchanging weapons. Shoigu arrived to discuss regional and global security with President Masud Pezeshkian and Chief of Staff Mohammad Bagheri, as reported by the Russian state agency Tass. Certainly, as the Israeli media emphasize, “to tighten cooperation” at a time of maximum crisis in the Middle East.
Meanwhile, in the morning in Israel, Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi welcomed the head of the United States Central Command (Centcom) Michael Erik Kurilla: “They held an assessment of strategic and security issues, as well as joint preparations in the region,” the IDF reported. Without obviously saying that the task of the head of Centcom is to ensure that the international coalition is coordinated and ready for any eventuality. Because for President Joe Biden, as well as for Secretary Antony Blinken, if the Iranian attack is well faced, Israel’s response will also be smaller, and a wider war will be avoided. This is a topic on the table in the US where Biden is holding a conference on the situation in the Middle East. In the meantime, the Israeli government has activated radio silence. The cabinet has not been convened, the ministers have not received any specific instructions, there has been no further assessment of the situation after the one called on Sunday evening by Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu and which ended after midnight. In a brief statement in the evening, the army only said that the chief of staff “carried out an assessment and approved plans for the various scenarios.”
While Defense Minister Yoav Gallant used somewhat ambiguous words today: “We are very well prepared in defense, on the ground and in the air, and we are ready to move quickly to attack or respond.”. In short, it is not clear whether “attacking” means before or after the expected enemy raids. One of the most prestigious media in the country, Haaretz, reports the words of a diplomat from one of the countries involved in negotiations with Iran and Hezbollah to prevent or delay reprisals: “total pessimism” reigns among the mediators and “they are preparing for several intense days of exchanges of blows, before there is a chance to lower the temperature”. Meanwhile in Tehran, in Piazza Palestina, a sign has appeared written in an unlikely Hebrew: “There is no safety even in the shelter”. To make matters worse, an Iranian parliamentarian, Mohammad Qasim Osmani, declared in the evening that to avenge the death of Haniyeh, “we will not accept anything less than the death of Netanyahu”, as reported by Tass.