Iran Meets With Allies Following Israeli Strikes

Following the Israeli strike that killed Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran’s capital, Tehran, yesterday, Iranian officials are meeting with allies representing Palestine’s Hamas, Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Yemen’s Houthis, and Iraqi groups today. The strike that killed Haniyeh yesterday follows an Israeli airstrike that killed three of Haniyeh’s sons and three of his grandchildren in Gaza on April 10.

Reuters reported a senior Iranian official said Iran and its allies are assessing how they will retaliate, stating:

Iran and the resistance members will conduct a thorough assessment after the meeting in Tehran to find the best and most effective way to retaliate against the Zionist regime (Israel),

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Iran was obligated to retaliate in response to the attack, stating on X:

Following this bitter, tragic event which has taken place within the borders of the Islamic Republic, it is our duty to take revenge.

Following the airstrikes, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel has been in a war against Iran since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack, stating on X:

Netanyahu also mentioned the address he made to a Joint Meeting of Congress during his trip to Washington, D.C., last week, stating on X:

In my address to Congress several days ago, I noted that the three main arms of this axis of evil are Hamas, the Houthis and Hezbollah, the three H’s. We have recently struck crushing blows on each one.

In response to the Israeli strikes, Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) criticized Vice President Kamala Harris for opposing the Israeli strike that killed Hezbollah leader Fuad Shukr, stating on X:

Thank God Israel didn’t listen to Kamala Harris, and instead took out a top Hezbollah commander who murdered hundreds of Americans. Kamala Harris is dangerously weak on national security.