US seeing Iran's preparations for retaliatory attack on 'Israel': CNN
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Multiple US officials told CNN that they expect Iran to retaliate in the coming days, perhaps within the next few hours.
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A mural showing a launched missile with a sign in Farsi is seen on a wall at the Felestin (Palestine) Sq. in downtown Tehran, Iran, Thursday, January 18, 2024 (AP)
The US is beginning to witness Iran's preparations for a retaliation strike on 'Israel,' after the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, CNN reported, citing two officials.
It is unknown what type of preparations Iran is making, but US authorities predict an assault on 'Israel' in the upcoming days, according to reports.
The Islamic Revolution Guard Corps in Iran announced the martyrdom of Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the Political Bureau of Hamas, alongside one of his guards in Tehran last week.
Hamas confirmed the martyrdom of the Hamas leader, noting that the head of the political bureau was killed in a "treacherous Zionist airstrike on his residence in Tehran."
Multiple US officials told CNN that they expect Iran to retaliate in the coming days, perhaps within the next few hours, however, they struggle "to gauge when the response will come and what form it will take."
The American broadcaster claimed that Iran had already moved some of its military assets, needed for such an attack, in April, when it responded to an Israeli strike on its embassy in Syria.
According to two US officials, this makes it more difficult for American intelligence to predict Tehran's actions. This has created divisions among US national security officials, who have contradicting views on the aspects of the anticipated military response.
Now the US attempts to recreate a coalition that helped defend "Israel" from the large-scale Iranian strike on April 13, 2024. Although the effort to mitigate the strike's effects saw the participation of multiple NATO and regional states, including the wide-scale deployment of aircraft and air defense batteries, Iran managed to hit a number of key Israeli military assets with pinpoint precision.
The event also saw the US collect substantial information on the details of the strike and its effects. Yet, the efforts and the broad Israeli anti-air systems failed to provide full coverage from a flurry of Iranian missiles.
Officials who spoke to CNN said that the "American intelligence picture is much murkier" this time.
US role in backing 'Israel' makes it legally liable: Iran Judiciary
The United States is liable for prosecution for the role it played in supporting and guiding "Israel", which conducted acts of terror and mischief, Iran's Judiciary said on Tuesday.
Judiciary spokesperson Asghar Jahangir made the remarks one week after the Israeli assassination of martyred Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, and that of senior Hezbollah commander, Martyr Fouad Shokor, in Beirut, Lebanon.
According to the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC), Haniyeh's assassination was carried out by "Israel" and supported by the US administration.
Jahangir said the assassinations of both Resistance leaders were carried out in "desperate and brutal" operations by the Israeli occupation, whose survival rests on "organized assassinations and great acts of mischief against oppressed people."
"The US’s role in supporting and leading this evil regime is undeniable, and it provides the ground for legal and criminal prosecution of the government [in Washington] in international bodies," he stressed, adding that Iran intends to employ all of its domestic and international capacities to respond to Haniyeh's assassination.
Meanwhile, Iran has rejected American and Arab efforts to tone down its response, citing people familiar with the talks as saying that Tehran informed Arab diplomats on Saturday that it is unconcerned if its response to the Israeli assassination leads to the outbreak of war.
