Report: Iranian Supreme Leader orders direct attack on Israel

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has ordered his country to launch a direct strike on Israel as retaliation for the elimination of Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.

The New York Times on Wednesday cited three Iranian officials, including two members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Khamenei gave the order at an emergency meeting of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council the morning after the elimination.

The Iranian officials told the Times that their military is considering an attack similar to the one launched on Israel in April in response to the elimination of a senior IRGC commander in Syria. During the attack, which only wounded one and caused minor damage to an airbase, Iran launched hundreds of drones and missiles. According to the report, Iran may launch drones and missiles at military targets in the vicinity of Tel Aviv and Haifa but would make a point of avoiding strikes on civilian targets.

The officials also noted that Iran is considering a coordinated attack from Iran and other fronts where it has allied forces, including Yemen, Syria, and Iraq.

Senior officials in Iran told the New York Times earlier in the day that the assassination had left Tehran’s top leadership "in utter shock."

Supreme Leader Khamenei said that “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.”