Iran Orders ‘Direct Attack’ On Israel Day After Hamas Chief Ismail Haniyeh Killed: Report

Iran and Hamas have accused Israel of the assassination. Israel, which is at war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, has neither acknowledged nor denied killing Haniyeh.

Tehran: A day after Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Tehran, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ordered Iran to strike Israel directly, New York Times reported, citing three Iranian officials. Khamenei issued the order at an emergency meeting of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, shortly after Iran announced that Haniyeh had been killed.

Iran and Hamas have accused Israel of the assassination. Israel, which is at war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, has neither acknowledged nor denied killing Haniyeh, who was in Tehran for the inauguration of Iran’s new president.

Notably, Israel has a long history of killing enemies abroad, including Iranian nuclear scientists and military commanders, according to the NYT.

Through almost 10 months of war in Gaza, Iran has tried to strike a balance, putting pressure on Israel with sharply increased attacks by its allies and proxy forces in the region, while avoiding an all-out war between the two nations.

In its biggest and most overt attack on Israel, Iran launched hundreds of missiles and drones in April in retaliation for an Israeli strike on its embassy compound that killed several Iranian military commanders in the Syrian capital of Damascus.

“Now it is unclear how forcefully Iran will respond, and whether it will once again calibrate its attack to steer clear of escalation. Iranian military commanders are considering another combination attack of drones and missiles on military targets in the vicinity of Tel Aviv and Haifa, but would make a point of avoiding strikes on civilian targets,” the Iranian officials said.

One option under consideration is a coordinated attack from Iran and other fronts where it has allied forces, including Yemen, Syria and Iraq, for maximum effect, they added.

Khamenei, who has the last word on all state matters and is also the commander in chief of the armed forces, instructed military commanders from the Revolutionary Guards and the army to prepare plans for both an attack and a defence in case the war expands and Israel or the US strike Iran, the officials said.

In his public statement about Haniyeh’s death, Khamenei signalled that Iran would retaliate directly, saying, “we see avenging his blood our duty,” because it happened on the territory of the Islamic Republic. He said Israel had set the stage for receiving “a severe punishment,” New York Times reported.

Other Iranian officials, including the newly elected president, Masoud Pezeshkian, the foreign ministry, the Guards and Iran’s mission to the UN, also said openly that Iran would retaliate against Israel and that it had a right to defend itself against a transgression on its sovereignty.