US media reports: 'Iran is determined to strike Israel'
US media reported that Iran has rejected calls from the US and Arab countries to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East, stating that it is determined to strike Israel even if it leads to war.
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The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that the foreign ministers of Jordan and Lebanon traveled to Iran to urge de-escalation following the assassination of Hamas Political Bureau Chief Ismail Haniyeh in the Iranian capital, Tehran.
According to the newspaper, the Arab diplomats who traveled to Tehran were told that Iran is determined to strike Israel and that it “does not care if the response to Israel could trigger a war.”
The WSJ also reported that the US has requested European countries to pressure Iran to de-escalate, emphasizing that an attack by Iran would deal a major blow to the efforts of Iran's new President Masoud Pezeshkian to improve relations with the West.
An Israeli official speaking to the American network NBC News stated that Israel expects a missile and drone attack from Iran and Hezbollah in the coming days that could last for several days.
Israel, for its part, has announced that it will respond to all actions taken against it. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during a cabinet meeting on Sunday, 'The State of Israel is in a multi-front war against Iran's axis of evil'.
Following the assassinations of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut just hours apart last week, Israel claimed responsibility for the attack on Shukr but did not make a statement regarding the Haniyeh assassination.
Hezbollah announced that it would respond to the assassination of Shukr even if Israel did not claim responsibility for the Haniyeh assassination, while Iran declared that it would strike Israel in retaliation.
Iran last carried out a direct attack on Israel in April, sending more than 300 drones and missiles, but the vast majority of these were intercepted by Israel's allies and regional countries. One person was injured in Israel due to the missile attack, 99 percent of which was intercepted.