US President Joe Biden again warned Iran on Saturday about a possible retaliatory attack against Israel amid rising tensions in the Middle East.

“Don’t,” Biden responded to reporters before entering his vehicle, when he was asked: “What’s your message to Iran?”

Biden issued the same warning in April, before Iran carried out a rocket and drone attack against Israel in retaliation for the April 1 airstrike on its diplomatic facility in the Syrian capital of Damascus, killing at least seven members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, including two top generals.

Tensions are running high in the Middle East following the July 31 assassination of Hamas’ political chief Ismail Haniyeh in the Iranian capital of Tehran and Israel’s assassination of senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut.

Hamas and Iran have accused Israel of carrying out Haniyeh’s assassination, while Tel Aviv has not confirmed or denied responsibility.

Iran vowed “harsh punishment” for Israel for Haniyeh’s killing on Iranian soil.

Hezbollah, the Lebanese group, is also expected to retaliate after Israel assassinated Shukr in an airstrike on a southern suburb of Beirut on July 30.

The escalation comes amid an ongoing Israeli offensive against the Gaza Strip which has killed nearly 39,800 Palestinians following an attack on October 7 by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, that killed 1,139 Israelis.

Opinion

Editorial

Afghan strikes
Updated 24 Feb, 2026

Afghan strikes

IN the wake of the recent wave of terrorist attacks targeting Pakistan, with most of the atrocities linked to ...
Tug of war
24 Feb, 2026

Tug of war

THE timing may be questioned, but the issue is not new. The PPP and the MQM-P are once again engaging in their old...
Easier CNIC access
24 Feb, 2026

Easier CNIC access

NADRA’S decision to issue CNICs to first-time applicants without requiring them to produce a birth certificate is ...
Hollow applause
Updated 23 Feb, 2026

Hollow applause

The current account turnaround, though largely driven by import compression, rising remittances and bilateral debt rollovers, has eased external pressures.
Delayed appointment
23 Feb, 2026

Delayed appointment

THE recent appointment of a chief election commissioner for Azad Jammu & Kashmir has once again shone a ...
Fragile equilibrium
23 Feb, 2026

Fragile equilibrium

PAKISTAN is not short of food. It is short of resilience. The latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification...