Iran's Supreme Leader orders a direct attack in retaliation against Israel.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has ordered a direct attack on Israel in retaliation for the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran earlier this week. This information was just reported by the New York Times (NYT).
According to the source, citing three unnamed Iranian officials, Khamenei issued this directive after convening an emergency meeting of Iran's Supreme National Security Council on the morning of July 31 (local time), following the missile attack.
Earlier, Haniyeh was in the Iranian capital to attend the inauguration of the new President Masoud Pezeshkian when a missile struck his residence on July 31, killing him and a bodyguard.
Iran's supreme leader said in a statement the same day: "We consider revenge our duty." Khamenei condemned Israel for attacking Haniyeh when he was "a close guest in our home."
According to RT, the Israeli state has neither confirmed nor denied being behind the assassination.
Previously, Israel had vowed to eliminate Haniyeh and other figures in the Hamas leadership after the militant group's attack on October 7, 2023, which killed approximately 1,200 Israelis and took more than 250 hostages. Since then, Israel's military campaign has killed more than 39,000 Palestinians in Gaza, causing serious tensions with Iran.
In April, Israel attacked an Iranian embassy compound in Syria, and Iran launched hundreds of missiles and drones in a direct retaliatory attack against Israel, prompting the US and other powers to mobilize air and naval forces to support Israeli air defenses.
The New York Times wrote: "It is unclear how strongly Iran will respond" to the July 31 attack on Tehran that killed Haniyeh.
The newspaper quoted Iranian officials as saying: "Iranian military commanders are considering another combined attack using drones and missiles on military targets in the vicinity of Tel Aviv and Haifa, but will try to avoid attacking civilian targets."
According to NYT sources, another option is "a coordinated attack from Iran and other fronts where Iran has allied forces, including Yemen, Syria, and Iraq, to achieve maximum effectiveness."
