Iran's Parliament Speaker, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, said on Sunday that the country's response to the elimination of Hamas politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last week will be "crushing and smart", reported the Xinhua news agency.
The response would make Israel and its supporters regret their action, forcing them to revise their system of calculations to refrain from making another "mistake" detrimental to their own security and regional peace, said Qalibaf, who made the remarks at an open session of the Iranian parliament.
Meanwhile, Hossein Taeb, a senior advisor to the chief commander of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), was quoted by Iranian broadcaster IRIB as saying that the scenario designed to avenge Haniyeh's elimination would be "new and surprising" and "unpredictable."
Haniyeh was eliminated in Tehran last week while visiting Iran for the swearing-in ceremony of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
Iran and Hamas blamed Israel for eliminating Haniyeh, though Israel has not commented on the elimination.
Israel is preparing for a retaliation by Iran and Hezbollah to the elimination of Haniyeh, as well as for the elimination of senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in a strike in Beirut a day before Haniyeh’s elimination.
US officials told CNN on Thursday that the US is expecting that an Iranian attack in retaliation for the elimination of Haniyeh may be similar to the barrage of ballistic missiles and drones launched against Israel on April 13.
The officials said that this time the attack could be larger and more complicated than before, including the possibility of a coordinated attack with Iranian proxies from multiple directions.
On Sunday, an Israeli official told NBC News that Israel is bracing for a potential multiday attack by Iran and Hezbollah.
The official said Israel fears waves of missiles and drones could be fired over several days and “they’ll just try to wear us out.”
Last week, US officials told CNN that the US is expecting that an Iranian attack in retaliation for the elimination of Haniyeh may be similar to the barrage of ballistic missiles and drones launched against Israel on April 13.