Iran may rethink reprisals against Israel over killing of Hamas leader

Iran may be rethinking the scale and form of its planned reprisal against Israel in the wake of the assassination of Hamas's political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, but is not likely to be put off by the absence of explicit support from Muslim states, officials have suggested.

- Patrick Wintour

Both US and Israeli sources have reportedly said in recent days that Tehran is still deciding on the scale and scope of its response after significant diplomatic pressure to avoid civilian casualties. Iran appears likely to target those responsible for the attack, specifically the Mossad and its agencies, rather than civilians.

Meanwhile, Israeli officials have reportedly concluded that the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah is determined to carry out an attack in the next few days in response to Israel's killing of senior commander Fuad Shakur, but the degree to which it will coordinate with Iran is unclear.

At a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Jeddah this week, there was a unanimous condemnation of the killing of Haniyeh, with members stating it was in flagrant violation of international law and of Iran's sovereignty, territorial integrity and national security.