Tensions in the Middle East; Biden's Request to Netanyahu to 'End Escalation'

Axios reported that Joe Biden, in a 'serious' phone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas's political bureau, urged him to 'end the escalation of tensions.' The media outlet noted on Friday, August 12, citing two American officials, that Biden and his advisors were very displeased with the consequences of Israel's actions in Tehran and Beirut to kill Ismail Haniyeh and Fouad Shukr, a commander of Hezbollah. Both the United States and Israel recognize Hamas and Hezbollah as terrorist organizations. According to Axios, although American officials are not upset about the deaths of senior Hamas and Hezbollah members, they believe Netanyahu deliberately kept the U.S. President uninformed while both sides had met in Washington days before these developments. Axios also stated that Biden called for discussions on the joint readiness of the U.S. and Israel to confront retaliatory actions from Iran and Hezbollah but expressed dissatisfaction with the path Netanyahu has taken in recent days. Following his phone conversation with Netanyahu on Thursday evening, the U.S. President told reporters: 'The elimination of Ismail Haniyeh did not help achieve a ceasefire (in Gaza).' Biden responded to a question about whether killing Ismail Haniyeh undermines the chances of reaching a ceasefire agreement, saying: 'It does not help.' Meanwhile, as Ismail Haniyeh was being buried in the capital of Qatar, multiple reports indicated that tensions in the region were escalating, and the likelihood of Iran responding to the assassination of Haniyeh had increased. The Pentagon announced on Friday that Lloyd Austin, the U.S. Secretary of Defense, informed his Israeli counterpart about supplementary actions related to the current deployment and advancement of U.S. forces stationed in the Middle East. The Israeli Ministry of Defense also stated that Yoav Gallant, the Israeli Defense Minister, told Austin during the same conversation that unprecedented U.S.-Israel security cooperation against Iran and its proxy groups is 'vital for security and stability in the region.' Earlier, the American newspaper Washington Post reported that following the escalation of tensions in the Middle East, the United States had deployed 12 ships, including the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, its accompanying ships, and an amphibious task force comprising three ships and over four thousand Marines and sailors in the Middle East. Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated early Wednesday, August 10, at a 'veterans' residence' in northern Tehran; an incident that has so far produced conflicting reports about the details. Hamas is recognized as a terrorist organization by the U.S. and several European countries. At the residence where Haniyeh was attacked, several guests were present for the swearing-in ceremony of Masoud Pezeshkian, Iran's new president. This ceremony took place on Tuesday, August 9, just hours before the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh. Iranian officials, including Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, have identified Israel as the perpetrator of Ismail Haniyeh's assassination. However, Israeli officials have neither confirmed nor denied this accusation. Meanwhile, Iranian officials emphasize that they will respond to the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, but the extent of this response remains unclear. As tensions escalate in the region, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that Iranian-backed militia groups in Syria, after announcing a state of alert, canceled leaves and called all their forces to return to their bases. The Lebanese newspaper An-Nahar and Al-Arabiya network reported that Hezbollah has also raised the alert level of its forces and evacuated some of its bases in the Dahieh area, southern suburbs of Beirut. According to these reports, Hezbollah has also advised residents of some buildings near its bases to move to 'safer locations.' On Thursday, Reuters reported, citing five sources, that representatives of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, as Palestinian allies of the Islamic Republic of Iran, as well as the Houthis of Yemen, Hezbollah of Lebanon, and groups known as 'resistance' in Iraq supported by Tehran, are participating in a meeting in Tehran. On the other hand, calls for restraint and calm from various countries have also increased. CNN reported that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in a message sent through Qatar, called for maintaining calm and not reacting to the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas's political bureau in Tehran, as well as Fouad Shukr, a senior commander of Hezbollah. Fouad Shukr, a senior military advisor to Hassan Nasrallah, the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, was killed on Tuesday, August 9, in an Israeli airstrike in the southern suburbs of Beirut. Following this incident, Hassan Nasrallah promised revenge in a speech on Thursday. Conflicting narratives about the assassination of Haniyeh and its significance have emerged. In response to these narratives, some of which were presented by media aligned with the Iranian government or even by individuals on state television, the Islamic Republic's broadcasting service issued a statement rejecting these narratives. In this statement, read during news programs, it was stated: 'Official security references in the country have not yet provided more information about this terrorist incident to the national media and other media. Therefore, anything published as details not disclosed about this incident in the media, including statements made by experts in live programs of the national media, are personal views, analyses, and speculations.' Masoud Al-Fak, an expert on Iran and the Middle East residing in the United Arab Emirates, commented on the reason for the conflicting reports about the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, stating: 'The reason for these speculations is that, like all past events, the Islamic Republic refrains from providing a clear account of how Ismail Haniyeh was killed.' The Fars news agency, which is close to the Revolutionary Guards, reported that in the early hours of Wednesday, Haniyeh's residence was targeted by a ground-to-air projectile; a projectile that led to the destruction of parts of the roof and window, killing Haniyeh and one of his bodyguards. Following the publication of this report and its reflection in international media, Daniel Hagari, the chief spokesperson for the Israeli army, stated at a press conference: 'On the night of Tuesday, we carried out a specific airstrike in which we eliminated Fouad Shukr, the senior military commander of Hezbollah. I want to clarify one issue: that night, there were no other air, missile, or drone strikes anywhere in the Middle East.' One day after the incident, on Friday, the New York Times published another account of the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. This newspaper, citing seven officials in the Middle East, including two Iranians and one American, reported that the head of Hamas's political bureau was killed by the explosion of a bomb that had been planted at his residence in Tehran. The New York Times claimed that the bomb had been planted about two months prior at the guesthouse where Haniyeh was residing and was activated remotely after confirming his presence in the room. This report was also confirmed by the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, but the Fars news agency criticized it, describing it as an attempt to divert the accusation of violating Iran's territorial sovereignty away from Israel. Ali Mohtadi, an Arab world expert, commented on the significance of the details surrounding the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, stating: 'The importance lies in the fact that the accuracy of each of the narratives of Haniyeh's assassination can determine the nature of Iran's potential response.' He explained: 'If a projectile from a third country targeted Mr. Haniyeh's residence, it may attack Israeli interests and possibly American interests in that same country as retaliation. However, if the bombing occurred at Mr. Haniyeh's residence, it can be anticipated that Iran will first detain individuals and perhaps issue death sentences for them to demonstrate that it has targeted the Israeli espionage network and then consider taking further action.' Amid increasing concerns over the escalation of security situations, several airlines from various countries have announced they will avoid entering the airspace of Iran, Israel, and Lebanon.