There is a lot of pressure on Thursday’s peace talks in Qatar right now as fears that Iran could escalate the Israel-Hamas conflict spike.
Tensions have been high ever since a Hamas leader was killed by an air strike in Tehran, and a Hezbollah leader was assassinated in Beirut last month.
Israel has only taken responsibility for the death of the Hezbollah figure Fuad Shukr – it has not commented on the Tehran incident.
But, the country is being widely blamed for the murdering Hamas’s political leader Ismail Haniyeh.
Iran, which backs the Palestinian militant group, has vowed to exact a severe response to the Hamas’ leader’s death.
Meanwhile, the US Navy recently sent warships and a submarine to the Middle East to bolster Israel’s defences as fears that a wider war could start across the whole region.
The country’s top diplomat Antony Blinken reportedly cancelled his anticipated trip to the region this week over “uncertainty” about the situation, too.
White House spokesperson John Kirby told the press on Monday: “Something could happen as soon as this week by Iran and its proxies... That is a US assessment as well as an Israel assessment.
“If something does happen this week, the timing of it could certainly well have an impact on these talks we want to do on Thursday.”
On August 5, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman, Nasser Kanaani, said it is “necessary to punish Israel” but that “Tehran is not interested in escalating the regional conflicts.”
Then Iran told Reuters news agency on Tuesday it would attack Israel unless the country agrees to an immediate ceasefire in Gaza at Doha peace talks – or if it thinks Israel is dragging out peace talks this week.
It comes after the UK, France and Germany issued a joint statement pleading for “calm” from Iran on Monday.
But Hamas told Sky News on Wednesday they do not intend to go to the ceasefire talks in Doha.
Reportedly, they said they believe Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not actually want a peace deal and they want the starting point to be deal proposed by US president Joe Biden earlier this year.
The three-stage deal would see all remaining Hamas hostages released while Israel would accept steps towards a permanent ceasefire and the eventual withdrawal of its troops from Gaza.
It’s not clear if this suggestion they may not attend the talks is a negotiation tactic from Hamas.
Israel and Hamas have been in peace talks repeatedly in recent months, but no final ceasefire has been agreed to.
Concerns about the area skyrocketed after Hamas militants killed 1,200 people on Israeli soil on October 7, and took around 250 others hostage.
Israel then declared war and invaded the Palestinian territory of Gaza.
The local authorities say nearly 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli offensive.