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The assassination of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, which Iran blamed on Israel, has raised fears of a broader war in West Asia read more
 "France tells nationals as Israeli hits fuel West Asia tension")
The assassination of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh has sparked fears of an all-out war in West Asia. In the photo, clerics offer condolences to Haniyeh. (Photo: Reuters)
Amid fears of an all-out war in West Asia, France has told its nationals to leave Iran as soon as possible.
The assassination of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran earlier this week, which Iran blamed on Israel, has raised fears of a broader war in West Asia. Haniyeh was in Tehran to attend the swearing-in ceremony of President Masoud Pezeshkian.
“Due to the increased risk of a military escalation in the region, visiting French nationals still in Iran are invited to leave as soon as possible,” said the French Foreign Ministry in a statement.
The news of Haniyeh’s assassination came hours after Faud Shukr, the military chief of Hezbollah, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon’s capital Beirut.
Both Hamas and Hezbollah are part of the Iran-backed anti-Israel ‘Axis of Resistance’ in West Asia and share its commitment to the destruction of the State of Israel. The Axis also comprises other groups in the region like the Yemen-based Houthis and Shia militias in Iraq and Syria.
The two assassinations, which follow the last month’s killing of Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif, marked the biggest escalation in the ongoing conflict in West Asia. Israel and Hamas have been on war since the October 7 terrorist attacks. Soon after the Hamas attacked Israel, Lebanon-based Hezbollah and Yemen-based Houthis also joined the conflict. While Houthis terrorised the Red Sea, the Hezbollah opened a second front of conflict in Israel’s north that shares the border with southern Lebanon.
Earlier in April, following the killing of top Iranian commanders in an airstrike at the Iranian mission in Syrian capital Damascus, Iran had launched hundreds of missiles, drones, and rockets at Israel in the first-ever direct attack on the Jewish state. Even though the two archenemies have been locked in a shadow war for years, it was the first time Iran directly attacked Israel. Israel followed with its own strikes but the fact that a US-led coalition of Western and Arab nations fended off the Iranian barrage and the Israeli response was quite measured, the escalation did not spiral into an all-out conflict.
Now, however, there are fears that escalatory assassinations may spiral into an all-out war as reports have said that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has ordered direct attacks on Israel in retaliation to Haniyeh’s killing in Tehran.
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English (US) ·