How might the ‘axis of resistance’ respond to Israel’s escalation?
Al Jazeera
Iran and allied groups vow to hit back at Israel, seeking to restore deterrence, say analysts.
Iran and regional armed groups aligned with the country are preparing to respond to Israel over the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh and Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr earlier this week.
Self-styled as the “axis-of-resistance” for being at odds with United States-Israeli hegemony in the region, Iran and its allies will seek to restore deterrence against Israel without provoking a full-blown regional war, analysts told Al Jazeera, while warning that the space for miscalculation is razor-thin.
“One of the lines of argument in Iran right now is that they need to show a firm response and show their readiness to enter into a war in order to de-escalate,” said Hamidreza Azizi, an expert on Iran and a non-resident fellow with the Middle East Council on Global Affairs think tank in Doha, Qatar.
“[Iran’s leaders think] that if they don’t do that, then Israel is not going to stop and after some time there might be Iranian officials being targeted openly by Israel in the country,” he added.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that it was his country’s “duty” to avenge Haniyeh, after he was killed in the Iranian capital Tehran while attending the inauguration of President Masoud Pezeshkian on July 30.
