Foreign media: This is the only condition that Iran has set for not attacking Israel

Only a Gaza cease-fire agreement stemming from this week's talks would stop Iran from directly retaliating against Israel for the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on its soil, three senior Iranian officials said, according to Reuters.

Iran has vowed to launch a tough response to Haniyeh's killing, which happened while he was visiting Tehran late last month and which it blamed on Israel. Israel has not confirmed or denied its involvement. The US Navy has deployed warships and a submarine to the Middle East to bolster Israeli defenses.

One of the sources, a senior Iranian security official, said Iran, along with allies such as Hezbollah, would launch a direct attack if the Gaza talks fail or if it thinks Israel is stalling negotiations.

With a growing risk of a wider war in the Middle East following the killing of Haniyeh and Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr, Iran has engaged in intense dialogue with Western countries and the United States in recent days over ways to calibrate retaliation. the sources said.