NEW YORK, August 15. /TASS/. The US administration has informed Tehran that it does not want the conflict in the Middle East to expand but Washington is concerned that Iran will still attack Israel in retaliation for the killing of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh, the Wall Street Journal writes, citing US officials.

"We know they are paying attention to our messages," a senior administration official said, adding: "We don’t know if it’s changing their minds."

"That is keeping the administration on edge. US military officials have oscillated between fearing a larger Iranian response than its April barrage to Tehran not responding at all," the paper writes.

According to a Pentagon official, the uncertainty particularly stems from Iran’s increased military capacity, which was demonstrated in the recent attack on Israel. The US is highly concerned about the possibility of another major Iranian strike on Israel.

Washington has decided to send F-22 Raptor fifth generation fighter jets and the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group to the Middle East to defend Israel and US military bases in the region from a potential Iranian attack. The Lincoln, which is expected to arrive in the coming weeks, carries F-35 jet fighters. However, "it is unclear whether any of these moves by the Biden administration will work as intended," the Wall Street Journal notes.

Tensions in the Middle East flared up again after the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and the killing of Fuad Shukr, a top commander of the Lebanon-based Hezbollah movement, in Beirut. Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah blamed the killings on Israel, vowing to take revenge. The Israeli authorities did not comment on Haniyeh’s death, while calling Shukr’s assassination a response to an attack on the Druze town of Majdal Shams on the Golan Heights, which had killed 12 people. Hezbollah denies involvement in the incident.