Deputy Commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), Brigadier General Ali Fadavi, stated on Monday that his country will punish Israel “in due time and place” for the elimination of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, the IRNA news agency reported.
He made the comments to reporters in the southwestern province of Khuzestan.
“The fake and child-killing Zionist regime continued its stupidity and martyred Haniyeh on Iranian soil, and we will give an appropriate response in due time and place”, Fadavi said, according to IRNA.
The Middle East has awaited, in recent weeks, an Iranian-led retaliation for the elimination of Haniyeh and Fuad Shukr, a top commander in Hezbollah.
Israel claimed responsibility for the elimination of Shukr but has not commented on the elimination of Haniyeh.
On Friday, US, Iranian and Israeli officials told The New York Times that Iran is expected to delay planned reprisals against Israel to allow mediators time to make a high-stakes push for a ceasefire to end the war in Gaza.
Israeli intelligence has assessed that both Iran and Hezbollah have lowered the level of alertness in their rocket and missile units, five Israeli officials told the newspaper.
Previously, three senior Iranian officials told Reuters that Iran could delay or cancel its planned attack against Israel if this week's ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas are successful.
Meanwhile, a US official on Friday warned that Iran would face "cataclysmic" consequences and derail momentum toward a Gaza truce if it strikes Israel.
The United States "would encourage the Iranians -- and I know many are -- not to move down that road, because the consequences could be quite cataclysmic, particularly for Iran," the senior US official told reporters.