Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued the order during an emergency meeting of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council on Wednesday morning, following the announcement of Haniyeh’s death.
Tehran: Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has ordered a direct strike on Israel in retaliation for the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, the New York Times reported, citing three Iranian officials, including two members of the Revolutionary Guards.
Khamenei issued the order during an emergency meeting of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council on Wednesday morning, shortly after Iran announced Haniyeh’s death.
Iran and Hamas have accused Israel of the assassination. Israel, which is currently at war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, has neither confirmed nor denied involvement in Haniyeh’s killing, who was in Tehran for the inauguration of Iran’s new president.
Historically, Israel has conducted targeted killings abroad, including those of Iranian nuclear scientists and military commanders, according to the NYT.
Throughout nearly 10 months of conflict in Gaza, Iran has tried to balance its actions by increasing pressure on Israel through its allies and proxy forces while avoiding a full-scale war.
In its most significant and overt attack on Israel, Iran launched hundreds of missiles and drones in April in response to an Israeli strike on its embassy compound in Damascus, which killed several Iranian military commanders.
It remains unclear how forcefully Iran will respond this time, and whether it will calibrate its attack to avoid escalation. Iranian military commanders are considering a combination of drone and missile strikes on military targets near Tel Aviv and Haifa while avoiding civilian areas, the 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 impact, they added.
Khamenei, who has the final say on all state matters and is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, has instructed military commanders from the Revolutionary Guards and the army to prepare plans for both an attack and a defense in case the conflict escalates and Israel or the US retaliate, the officials said.
In a public statement about Haniyeh’s death, Khamenei indicated that Iran would retaliate directly, stating, “we see avenging his blood our duty,” because the incident occurred on the territory of the Islamic Republic. He added that Israel had set the stage for “a severe punishment,” the 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, have also stated openly that Iran would retaliate against Israel and that it had the right to defend its sovereignty.
Iran and the regional forces it backs—Hamas, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, and multiple militias in Iraq—form what they call the “axis of resistance.”
Leaders of these groups were in Tehran for Pezeshkian’s inauguration on Tuesday.
Haniyeh was assassinated at about 2 am (local time) after attending the ceremony and meeting with Khamenei. The killing shocked Iranian officials, who described it as crossing red lines.
According to the NYT, this was a humiliating security breach for Iran, eager to project strength but unable to prevent Israel from conducting covert operations on its soil. The embarrassment was compounded by Haniyeh’s prominence, the presence of other allies, and that he was attacked at a highly secure Revolutionary Guards guesthouse on a day of heightened security in the capital.
Analysts cited by the NYT suggest Tehran views retaliation as necessary both to avenge Haniyeh’s killing and to deter Israel from targeting other powerful enemies, such as Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah or General Ismail Qaani, the commander of the Quds Forces overseeing militant groups outside Iran.
“Iran likely believes it has no choice other than retaliating to deter further Israeli attacks, defend its sovereignty, and preserve its credibility in the eyes of its regional partners,” said Ali Vaez, the Iran director of the International Crisis Group.
