Biden Says He Hopes Iran Will Refrain from Its Threats

Joe Biden, the President of the United States, stated that he is unsure whether Iran will retract its threats related to the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, a Hamas official, but he hopes it will. On Saturday evening, August 13, in Greenville, Delaware, Biden responded to a question about whether Iran would back down from its threats by saying, "I hope so; I don't know." In recent weeks, the U.S. President has repeatedly emphasized that he is focused on efforts to prevent escalation of tensions, but the United States' commitment to ensuring Israel's security is unwavering. Iranian officials have attributed the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas's political bureau, to Israel and have stressed the need for revenge. Hamas is recognized as a terrorist organization by the U.S. and the European Union. Meanwhile, on Saturday, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced in a new statement that a "short-range projectile" was the cause of Ismail Haniyeh's death, and the Deputy of the Judiciary announced the issuance of arrest orders for "infiltrators" and those who were "negligent" in this matter. Sadegh Rahimi, the Deputy of the Judiciary of the Islamic Republic, told Fars News Agency on Saturday evening that the Attorney General has ordered the identification and arrest of those who were "negligent or used as infiltrators" in this incident. Ismail Haniyeh, a leader of Hamas, who is recognized as a terrorist by the U.S. and the EU, had traveled to Tehran to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Masoud Pezeshkian and was reportedly killed in the early hours of Wednesday, August 10, according to Iranian officials. The Iranian judiciary official, like other Iranian officials, attributed Haniyeh's death to Israel and stated that it is being investigated whether Israel acted "directly" or used infiltrators and human agents. Prior to these statements, the New York Times reported on widespread arrests at Haniyeh's residence in Tehran, citing sources that included senior intelligence officers, military officials, and staff working at the guesthouse. The American newspaper added that Iranian security officials believe that the Mossad team responsible for this assassination is still in Iran. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied its involvement in the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, with only a spokesperson for the Israeli army briefly stating that the country did not conduct any airstrikes in the Middle East last Tuesday night, except for an operation that resulted in the death of Fouad Shukr in southern Beirut. Meanwhile, the IRGC announced on Saturday in a new statement that Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated through "the firing of a short-range projectile... accompanied by a strong explosion." This military body had also mentioned in its first statement released on the morning of Wednesday, August 10, that the cause of the explosion at Haniyeh's residence was "the impact of a projectile from the air." However, in recent days, several international media outlets have reported, citing various sources, that the cause of the explosion at Ismail Haniyeh's residence in Tehran was a planted bomb.