As Iran threatens to strike Israel for the apparent assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are slated to meet with national security officials in the White House Situation Room on Monday.
The Hill reported that the meeting will focus on developments in the Middle East. In the wake of Haniyeh's killing, concerns over the war in Gaza becoming a wider regional conflict have intensified.
Israel has not taken responsibility for the hit on Haniyeh in Tehran, but Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has vowed to seek revenge against the Jewish state.
On a Group of Seven conference call on Sunday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said attacks by Iran and its proxy terror group Hezbollah could come as early as Monday, Axios reported.
Citing people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reported that G7 member nations have urged Iran to minimize the scale of its retaliation in order to prevent an all-out regional war.
According to Axios, the G7 call was a last-ditch effort to induce Iran and Hezbollah to limit their attacks as much as possible.
On Monday, a spokesperson for Iran's foreign ministry told reporters that while the country is not seeking to further inflame geopolitical tensions, under international law, it has the right to punish Israel.
"Reinforcing stability and security in the region will be achieved by punishing the aggressor and creating deterrence against Israel and its adventurism," the spokesperson said, according to Bloomberg.
Haniyeh's death capped a highly charged week in the Middle East, following Israel's assassination of Hezbollah leader Fuad Shukr in Lebanon.
Foreign policy experts have suggested that the back-to-back deaths of the militant group leaders will further fray an already volatile situation, coming on the heels of Iran's direct attack on Israel little more than three months ago. Tehran fired hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel in an unprecedented attack.
Experts The Hill spoke with, however, said that Iran likely does not have the resources to repeat the scope of April's attack and may choose to respond instead through proxies like Hezbollah.
During a cabinet meeting on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly said his nation is already engaged in a "multifront war" with Iran and its proxy groups. Friction has been increasing since Oct. 7, when Hamas launched a brutal attack on southern Israel, killing approximately 1,200 people and wounding or kidnapping hundreds more.
Nicole Wells ✉
Nicole Wells, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.