Capitals: Agencies
France and Poland urged their citizens to leave Iran, Israel and Lebanon as soon as possible, amid the recent escalation of tensions in the region, following the assassination of the head of the political bureau of the Palestinian Hamas movement, Ismail Haniyeh, in Iran, where he was attending the inauguration ceremony of the new president, Masoud Pezeshkian, a day after the killing of the prominent leader of the Lebanese Hezbollah group, Fouad Shukr, in an Israeli raid on the southern suburbs of Beirut.
The Balkan News Network reported that the French Foreign Ministry urged its citizens in Iran to leave quickly, amid growing fears of an escalation of the conflict, especially since Iran and its allies met the day before yesterday to discuss possible responses to Israel following the assassination of Haniyeh.
Following France, Poland advised its citizens against traveling to Lebanon, Israel and Iran, as tensions in the region continue to escalate. Its Foreign Ministry stated: “Regarding the increasing number of Polish tourists visiting Lebanon, Israel and Iran, we would like to reiterate that we have long advised against traveling to this region in any way due to the unstable security situation.” The Polish airline LOT announced the day before yesterday the cancellation of eight flights to Lebanon and Israel due to the security situation. This comes after several cancellations in other European countries, including the Czech Republic, where several flights to Israel were canceled. News reports indicated that senior Iranian officials will meet with representatives of allied factions from Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen next Thursday, to discuss a possible response to Israel after the killing of Haniyeh. Western intelligence sources told Sky News that they have evidence that Iran intends to attack Israel on Tisha B'Av, a Jewish holiday that begins on August 12 and ends the following day, while the attack will be coordinated with Hezbollah, which is based in Lebanon. According to the Middle East News Agency and reported by the Youm7 website in Cairo, American officials expected, on Sunday, that Iran would launch an attack on Israel tomorrow, Monday, indicating that military officers are putting the final touches on plans to approve them at the political level.

The officials expected - according to what was reported by the American "Al-Hurra" channel - that the Iranian response to the assassination of the head of the political bureau of the Hamas movement, Ismail Haniyeh, and the leader of the Lebanese Hezbollah, Fouad Shukr, would be retaliatory, and in the same manner as its attack on Israel on April 13, and perhaps more extensive.

They said that "the commander of the US Central Command in the Middle East, General Michael Kurilla, arrived in the region yesterday, Saturday, as preparations continue for a possible attack on Israel by Iran in response to the assassination of Haniyeh and Fouad Shukr."