Panic grips Zionist entity with settlers fleeing occupied lands as Iran eyes retaliation

By Alireza Akbari

As Iran prepares to launch a retaliatory military operation, panic has gripped the Israeli-occupied territories with settlers fleeing hysterically and airports coming to a grinding halt.

Hamas political bureau leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated at his residence in Tehran on Wednesday by the Israeli regime agents with the support of the United States, using a “short-range projectile.”

Iran’s top leadership, including Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian, has vowed to avenge the blood of the visiting Hamas official.

Ayatollah Khamenei said the blood of a “dear guest” will be avenged in a statement on Wednesday.

"Yesterday, I raised his victorious hand, and today I must carry him on my shoulders," President Pezeshkian wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter, showing his deep affection for the Hamas leader.

Major General Hossein Salami, commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), in a warning on Friday, said those involved in the attack "should await “sacred fury, harsh revenge, and vengeance from the devoted, resolute, and determined mujahedeen of the regional resistance fronts."

In a statement on Saturday, IRGC again warned of “severe punishment” at a time, place and manner to be decided by the Iranian military forces, keeping the regime guessing.

IRGC chief to Hezbollah leader: ‘Sacred rage, harsh revenge’ await enemies of Muslims

The chief commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) strongly warns about the consequences of the Israeli regime’s recent assassination of a senior Hezbollah figure.

Iran's Jewish community also strongly condemned the Israeli assassination of Haniyeh as a terrorist crime and a blatant violation of international laws, calling for revenge. 

It has left the Tel Aviv regime on the edge with its Western allies, including the US, already sending warships to the region, according to reports. Americans, however, have refused to get directly involved.

The Islamic Republic of Iran views the assassination of the Hamas leader as a violation of its territorial integrity and sovereignty, which warrants and legitimizes a retaliatory military action.

United States, while pledging its support to the Israeli regime, does not want to get directly involved in a military confrontation with Iran, fearing more attacks on its military bases in the region.

“Iran has already proven it is capable and willing to launch a major attack on Israel,” White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby told MSNBC on Thursday.

“We must take the Leader's warning about revenge seriously,” he hastened to add.

In the occupied territories, settlers have been seen flocking to airports to flee, causing massive chaos and commotion. There were also reports of a cyber attack on the Tel Aviv airport on Friday.

Videos from the streets of Tel Aviv show a sense of unease and panic following the assassinations of Haniyeh as well as senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in an Israeli strike within 48 hours.

“People are tense, sure,” Ori Goldberg, a Tel Aviv-based expert on Israeli politics, said in an interview with Al Jazeera. “There are fewer people on the street, there’s a general sense of anxiety…”

Israeli media outlets have also reported extreme fear among settlers who think Iran’s response this time would be bigger and mightier than the ‘True Promise’ operation in April, following the bombing of the Iranian consulate in the Syrian capital of Damascus.

Some sections of Hebrew media have been reporting that Iran will use hypersonic missiles this time, which have the potential to evade all air defenses.

Amid these developments, many countries have already suspended flights to Tel Aviv while many embassies have issued travel advisories for their citizens to avoid traveling to the occupied territories.

For example, India and Poland have advised their citizens to avoid travel to the occupied Israeli-occupied territories. The US Embassy in Tel Aviv also urged American citizens there to exercise caution and increase their security awareness.

So, as experts say, even before a missile or drone is launched from the Iranian territory, the Zionist entity, settlers and their backers in the West are already feeling the heat.

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