Lufthansa Suspends Flights To Iran Citing Heightened Tensions

After 10 days of threatening revenge for Israel’s strike on Tehran’s Damascus consulate, Khamenei's voice cracked with emotion as he mentioned IRGC "martyrs” of the attack in his Eid al-Fitr sermon.

Bloomberg quoted anonymous sources as saying that “The potential assault, possibly using high-precision missiles, may happen in the coming days." It added that the United States is “helping Israel on planning and sharing intelligence assessment."

According to Axios, the top US military commander in charge of the Middle East is expected to go to Israel Thursday to coordinate around the possible attack on Israel by Iran and its proxies, two Israeli officials said. CENTCOM commander Gen. Erik Kurilla is expected to meet senior Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) officials and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

Khamenei has been repeating that Israel will be punished for the April 1 airstrike that killed seven Revolutionary Guards, including a senior general who was reportedly among the architects of Hamas October 7 invasion of Israel, the onset of the current Middle East conflict.

Khamenei’s tears on Wednesday triggered cries of "vengeance, vengeance" from the crowd in Tehran’s Musalla (prayer ground). "They loved martyrdom and ran after martyrdom all their lives, and God gave them this reward for their jihad. We are saddened, but they reached their goal."

Clenching their fists and chanting "Death to Israel," people gathered around Brigadier General Esmail Qaani, who is the commander-in-chief of IRGC’s extraterritorial Quds Force, the military wing which could play a key role in any revenge scenario. His predecessor Qassem Soleimani was killed in a targeted drone strike in January 2020 in the Iraqi capital Baghdad.

German airlines Lufthansa suspended flights to and from Tehran for 24 hours amid concerns of a potential military escalation. In response to an inquiry by Iran International, a Lufthansa spokesperson said, "Due to the current situation in the Middle East, Lufthansa has decided to suspend flights to and from Tehran until Thursday, April 11, 2024. We are constantly monitoring the situation in the Middle East and are in close contact with the authorities. The security and safety of our guests and crew members have top priority for Lufthansa."

Despite steering clear of direct military involvement in the Israel-Hamas conflict, Iran has leveraged its armed proxies, such as the Houthis and militant groups in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon to target both Israel and American interests in the region. But a retaliatory strike, especially launched from Iranian territory, would mark a major escalation of the conflict.

Khamenei also highlighted, "When they attack the consulate, it is as if they have attacked our soil," Khamenei said in his sermon marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. "The evil regime made a mistake and must be punished, and it shall be," he added.

In an apparent response to Khamenei, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said on Wednesday that Israel will respond if Iran attacks Israel from its own soil. "If Iran attacks from its own territory, Israel will respond and attack in Iran," Katz said in a post on the social media platform X.

US President Joe Biden also reiterated his country's commitment to Israel's security on Wednesday in the face of Iran's threats to launch an attack against Israel is "ironclad".

“The potential assault, possibly using high-precision missiles, may happen in the coming days, the people said, requesting anonymity to discuss confidential matters, Bloomberg reported. It added that the United States is “helping Israel on planning and sharing intelligence assessments,” sources said.

Since the precision missile strike by Israel on April 1 that killed two top IRGC generals and five other officers in Iran’s embassy compound in Damascus, Tehran has been threatening retaliation.

Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Wednesday said that Israel made a mistake and “will be punished.” Observers have been speculating in the past ten days whether Iran is willing to risk a widening of the conflict with Israel, or if it decides to retaliate, what kind of response it will unleash.

In an apparent response to Khamenei, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said on Wednesday that Israel will respond if Iran attacks Israel from its own soil.

"If Iran attacks from its own territory, Israel will respond and attack in Iran," Katz said in post on the social media platform X.

US President Joe Biden says his country's commitment to Israel's security in the face of Iran's threats to launch an attack against Israel is "ironclad".

German airlines Lufthansa suspended flights to and from Tehran for 24 hours amid concerns of a potential military escalation.

On Monday, a CNN report, citing sources familiar with US intelligence, suggested that Iran's retaliation against Israel is likely to be carried out by proxy militia groups rather than directly by Iran itself.

Iran’s supreme leader has led calls for retaliation, echoed by military and political leaders in Iran.

However, while Israel awaits Iran’s response, sources speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat emphasized that the pro-Iranian factions have no intention of reigniting confrontation with American forces which it had begun in the wake of the Gaza war.

Following US support for Israel’s right to defend itself in the wake of the Iran-backed Hamas invasion of October 7, the IRI -- an umbrella group representing several Iran-backed factions -- conducted dozens of attacks on US facilities.

Since February 6, when a US drone strike killed senior Kataib Hezbollah commander Abu Baqir al-Saadi, calm has been observed between Iraqi armed factions and US forces.

Kataib Hezbollah, established in the aftermath of the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, stands as one of the primary Iraqi armed factions with close ties to Iran. It remains the most influential faction within the IRI, a coalition of hardline Shiite groups responsible for over 150 attacks on US forces since the onset of the Gaza conflict on October 7.

The three sons - Hazem, Amir and Mohammad - were killed after the car they were driving in was bombed in Gaza's Al-Shati camp, Hamas said.

"Our demands are clear and specific, and we will not make concessions on them. The enemy will be delusional if it thinks that targeting my sons, at the climax of the negotiations and before the movement sends its response, will push Hamas to change its position," Haniyeh told pan-Arab Al Jazeera TV.

The Israeli military confirmed carrying out the strike, saying in a statement that Haniyeh’s sons were all operatives of Hamas’ armed wing.

Officials and government media in Iran did not immediately react to the news, except Fars News, affiliated with the IRGC that reported on the incident.

"The blood of my sons is not dearer than the blood of our people," said Haniyeh, who is based abroad in the Gulf Arab state of Qatar.

Haniyeh, based abroad in Qatar, has been the tough-talking face of Hamas' international diplomacy as war with Israel has raged on in Gaza, where his family home was destroyed in an Israeli airstrike back in November.

In the seventh month of the Gaza war Hamas wants an end to Israeli military operations and a withdrawal from the enclave, and permission for displaced Palestinians to return home.

Haniyeh's eldest son confirmed in a Facebook post that his three brothers were killed. "Thanks to God who honored us by the martyrdom of my brothers, Hazem, Amir and Mohammad and their children," wrote Abdel-Salam Haniyeh.

Appointed to the militant group's top job in 2017, Haniyeh has moved between Turkey and Qatar's capital Doha, avoiding Israeli-imposed travel restrictions in blockaded Gaza, and enabling him to act as a negotiator in the latest ceasefire negotiations, or communicate with Hamas' main ally Iran.

Israel regards the entire Hamas leadership as terrorists, accusing Haniyeh and other leaders of continuing to "pull the strings of the Hamas terror organization".

Lebanese citizen Sarur was found at home in possession of an undisclosed sum of money left untouched by the assassin.

Sarur has known affiliations with financial institutions linked to terror group Hezbollah, backed by Iran. In August 2019, the US Treasury imposed sanctions on Sarur and others, accusing them of transferring "tens of millions of dollars" from the foreign operations arm of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards through Hezbollah in Lebanon “to Hamas for terrorist attacks originating from the Gaza Strip.”

The Treasury revealed Sarur's role as a “middleman” between Iran's Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force and Hezbollah, collaborating with operatives to also facilitate funds for Hamas's armed wing, the Izz-a-Din al-Qassam Brigades in Gaza.

“As of 2014, Sarur was identified as in charge of all money transfers” between the Quds Force and the Qassam Brigades, the Treasury added.

According to the Treasury, Sarur also has an extensive history working at Hezbollah's sanctioned bank, Bayt al-Mal. Washington blacklisted Bayt al-Mal in 2006.

Since October 7’s Hamas invasion of Israel, alongside the subsequent war in Gaza, Lebanese Hezbollah has been engaged in daily clashes with the Israeli military. Proxies in Syria and Yemen have also joined the offensive in solidarity with Hamas in Gaza.

October 7’s attacks saw 1,200 mostly civilians murdered and 250 or more hostages taken to Gaza. Israel’s retaliatory offensive in a bid to rescue the hostages and eliminate Hamas has led to over 32,000 deaths according to Hamas. Israel claims around 13,000 terrorists have been killed since the war began.