Asked whether progress in ceasefire talks means Iran will continue to hold off on any retaliatory attack against Israel, a representative from Iran’s mission to the UN in New York responded, “We hope so”, Al Jazeera reports according to the Reuters news agency.

The region has braced for a strong response following Israel’s assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran’s capital Tehran in late July.

A retaliation has yet to materialise and with a deal between Israel and Hamas appearing to be moving closer, US officials have said that an Iranian strike could derail the talks.

A senior White House official, briefing reporters on condition of anonymity, said the US is sending a message to Iran: “Do not do such a thing. Don’t. We mean it. The consequences for such a thing would be cataclysmic”.