TEHRAN, Jan. 03 (MNA) – The Iranian defense minister warned the US to brace itself for the consequences of the Israeli assassination of the Deputy Chief of the Political Bureau of Hamas Saleh al-Arouri.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a cabinet session on Wednesday, Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Ashtiani said the assassination of the senior Hamas official will bedevil the US.

“The US has upset regional balance, and the consequences of this (Israeli) assassination (of Arouri) will beset them,” he warned.

Such moves against the Resistance forces will only strengthen regional solidarity against the American policies, the Iranian minister noted, warning Washington that its strategic mistakes will agitate the region and cause the US plans to backfire.

Senior Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri was killed in an Israeli drone strike on Beirut’s southern suburb of Dahiyeh on Tuesday.

He was a senior official in Hamas’s politburo and was known to be deeply involved in its military affairs. He had previously headed the group’s presence in the occupied West Bank.

Samir Findi Abu Amer and Azzam Al-Aqraa Abu Ammar, leaders of Hamas’ armed wing – the Qassam Brigades – were also killed, Hamas said in a message.

It named four other members of the group who were also killed.

We do not have any limits in this sensitive region, Ashtiani said elsewhere in his remarks.

Regarding Iran's support for Yemeni Ansarullah, he said that Yemen is supported by Iran, and they are independent and make their own decisions.

Yemen is a pioneering country that is taking steps against the domination system, and any country that is on this path will be supported by the regional countries, he added.

In response to the US claim about Iran's role in the attack on a vessel carrying chemicals in the Indian Ocean, he said that all these cases are the US' blame-game due to their strategic mistakes in the region.

The Iranian Navy’s 94th flotilla of warships, comprising of Alborz destroyer, entered the Red Sea on Monday amid heightening tensions in the strategic maritime route.

Since 2009, Iranian warships have been operating in open waters to secure shipping lines, fight against pirates, and carry out other missions.

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