Iran's Supreme leader orders strike on Israel after elimination of Hamas leader

The Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has ordered a direct strike against Israel. This is Iran's response to the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, The New York Times reports.

Three unnamed Iranian officials told the news agency that Khamenei's order came during a meeting of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran.

The New York Times sources specified that the Iranian military command is considering the possibility of another combined attack with drones and missiles on military targets around Tel Aviv and Haifa. Iran will attempt "to avoid strikes on civilian targets."

The sources also clarified that this could be a coordinated attack by Iran and its "allied forces" in Yemen, Syria, and Iraq. It is likely referring to militants supported by Tehran.

According to the unnamed officials, Khamenei has instructed military commanders to prepare plans for both an offensive and defensive scenario in case of an escalation of the war and a potential strike by Israel or the United States against Iran.

Israel has not commented on the incident, which came amid its war with the Hamas terror group in the Gaza Strip and hours after an İsraeli strike in Beirut killed the top military commander of fellow Iran-backed Hezbollah. With Israel on high alert for a possible response, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned in an address to the nation that “challenging days are ahead,” but vowed the country was “ready for every scenario” and “will exact a very heavy price for any aggression against us.” He did not mention Haniyeh.

On July 31, it became known that Tehran was struck by a missile attack. As a result, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and one of his bodyguards were killed.

Iran immediately blamed Israel for the attack. However, Israeli officials have not confirmed their involvement in the incident.

Notably, Haniyeh was killed after he participated in the inauguration of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. “With this action, the criminal and terrorist Zionist regime prepared the ground for harsh punishment for itself, and we consider it our duty to seek revenge for his blood as he was martyred in the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Khamenei said in a statement on the assassination carried by state media.