According to three senior Iranian officials speaking to Reuters, only a ceasefire agreement in Gaza—if it emerges from the negotiations starting tomorrow, Thursday—might prevent or delay Iranian retaliation against Israel for the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
Iran, along with allies such as Hezbollah, will launch a direct attack if the Gaza talks fail to produce results or if Tehran believes Israel is deliberately stalling the negotiations. No specific timeline was given.
In 10 months of conflict, nearly 40,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli bombings, while 1,200 Israelis have died in the initial Hamas attacks.
Last week, the Israeli government agreed to send a delegation to the negotiations, which also involve the U.S., Egypt, and Qatar. However, Hamas announced it would not participate due to a lack of trust in the Netanyahu government, which is expected to further hinder reaching an agreement.
Hamas is demanding that the ceasefire talks focus on a proposed agreement similar to one suggested by the U.S. in early July, which has already been discussed with Israel and the mediators, rather than starting negotiations from scratch.
Netanyahu has denied accusations of deliberately delaying the talks, but a New York Times report revealed he demonstrated less flexibility in recent negotiations.
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