An Iranian parliamentary member of the National Security Committee, Ahmad Bakhaish Ardistani, revealed new details today regarding his country's response to Israel following the assassination of Hamas political bureau head Ismail Haniya in Tehran. In an interview with Russian channel RT, Ardistani stated, "Regarding the Islamic Republic of Iran's response to Israel, I must address several points. Since Mr. Haniya was our special guest, we prepared the highest level of security for him, Iranians are hospitable, yet he was assassinated within Iran."
He added, "Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has declared that revenge for Haniya is on the agenda." Ardistani continued, "To demonstrate to the world that our leader is sincere and his promises are truthful, this operation to attack Israel will certainly occur, and it could be surprising."
The National Security Committee member clarified that "the recent attack dubbed 'the sincere promise' on Israel was carried out with 300 missiles and drones; we informed Tel Aviv about it, and we just wanted to showcase our strength in that we can breach Israel's defensive shield, and the cruise missiles we launch hit targets 10 to 12 minutes after being fired."
Ardistani remarked, "We have shown Israel that we are capable of doing this, but it seems that this has not deterred Israel. I believe that if this operation is executed this time, it will be in the form of a hybrid war." He pointed out that "Iran can strike Haifa and Tel Aviv with 600 cruise missiles because they carried out the assassination in Tehran, and we must target their capital."
He added, "Countries that support us or support our allies, such as resistance groups like Hezbollah, Popular Mobilization Forces, and the Houthis, can do the same (attack Israel). However, there is one scenario in which this conflict could be resolved, which is when the Israelis reach a consensus with Gaza and sign an agreement accepting their failure to eliminate Hamas. When Tel Aviv acknowledges its failure to eradicate the movement and the existence of Hamas, this will be a defeat for Israel, meaning Iran would not need to address the issue of 'attacking Israel.'"
It is noteworthy that Iran had threatened to retaliate against Israel for the assassination of Hamas political head Ismail Haniya in Tehran on July 31. It should be noted that Israel has not officially claimed responsibility for Haniya's assassination.
