Iran’s supreme leader ordered a direct strike on Israel hours after top Hamas official Ismail Haniyeh was killed in an airstrike early Wednesday, according to a report Wednesday.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued the command during an emergency meeting of the country’s Supreme National Security Council, which convened shortly after the assassination, the New York Times reported, citing three Iranian officials briefed on the matter.
Iran and Hamas both blamed Israel for the deadly airstrike on Haniyeh, though Israel has not commented on the killing.
Haniyeh, who was the Palestinian terror group’s political leader, was in Iran for the inauguration of the country’s new president when he was killed.
It was not immediately clear what options Iran forces would pursue, but military commanders are considering a combination of drones and missiles that would target military facilities near Tel Aviv and Haifa, according to the Times, citing the Iranian officials.
The strikes would attempt to avoid civilian casualties, the officials claimed.
In April, Iran launched 300 missiles and drones at Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iranian Revolutionary Guard generals in Syria. Israel, with the help of the US and Jordan, intercepted 99% of the incoming munitions.
Once again, Iran is weighing a coordinated attack that would involve other allied militant groups from Yemen, Syria and Iraq, the newspaper reported.
Khameni also ordered commanders from the Revolutionary Guards and army to get ready an attack and defensive plans in case the conflict widens with either strikes from Israel or the United States hitting the country, the officials said.
The assassination on Haniyeh has infuriated Iran, prompting its leaders to publicly vow revenge on Israel.
Hamas said shortly after the killing that its leader was killed “in a Zionist airstrike on his residence in Tehran after he participated in the inauguration of Iran’s new president.”
While Israel has neither confirmed nor denied it was behind Haniyeh’s killing, the Jewish state has said it would hunt down Haniyeh and other Hamas leaders following the Oct. 7 attack by the terror group that killed 1,200 people.
Without mentioning the killing, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel “will exact a very heavy price from any aggression against us on any front.”
“There are challenging days ahead,” he said.
Haniyeh’s death comes as negotiations continue in hopes of stopping the fighting in Gaza – at least temporarily – and freeing the remaining Israeli hostages.
Israel also carried out a strike Tuesday in Beirut where Israeli leaders said it killed a top Hezbollah commander who was allegedly behind a rocket strike in Israeli-controlled Golan Height that killed 12 children over the weekend.
With Post wires
