ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The French government on Friday advised its nationals in Iran to leave the country “as soon as possible” because of escalated tensions in the Middle East, days after Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Tehran. "Due to the increased risk of a military escalation in the region, visiting French nationals still in Iran are invited to leave as soon as possible," AFP cited the French foreign ministry as saying. There are fears that the conflict between Israel and Palestinian Hamas could spill over into the wider region after Haniyeh was killed this week in a pre-dawn attack in Tehran on Wednesday. Hamas and Iran have blamed Israel and Tehran has vowed to respond. It is not clear how the Palestinian leader was assassinated but Iranian authorities said he was targeted by a missile. Israeli army spokesperson Daniel Hagari told reporters on Thursday that Tel Aviv did not carry out any airstrikes in Iran the night Haniyeh was killed. Iran is a staunch supporter of Hamas and expectations are it will carry out a direct attack on Israel for the second time in decades. Tehran fired hundreds of projectiles and weaponized drones at Israel earlier this year in response to a deadly attack on the Iranian embassy in Damascus. The latest tensions in the Middle East come nearly 10 months into the conflict that began with an unprecedented Hamas attack on southern Israel that triggered an all-out offensive by Tel Aviv on the Gaza Strip. The war has claimed the lives of more than 39,000 Palestinians and 1,200 Israelis.
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