Iran’s Supreme Leader Pledges To Directly Attack Israel

The Supreme Leader of Iran has vowed to directly attack Israel just 24 hours after a top Hamas official was killed in Tehran on Tuesday.

In a post on X Khamenei wrote, “Following this bitter, tragic event which has taken place within the borders of the Islamic Republic, it is our duty to take revenge.“

On his official website, Khamenei wrote, “Issued an order to Strike Israel directly.”

In response to Khamenei’s threats, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel “will exact a very heavy price from any aggression against us on any front.”

JUST IN: 🇮🇷 🇮🇱 Iran's Supreme-Leader, Ali Khamenei orders Iranian Armed Forces to launch a direct strike on Israel. pic.twitter.com/FBsmDxyNqR

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JUST IN – Khamenei has issued an order for Iran to strike Israel directly in retaliation for the killing of Hamas's leader in Tehran — NYT

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Per Haaretz:

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei has “issued an order for Iran to strike Israel directly, in retaliation for the killing in Tehran of Hamas’s leader, Ismail Haniyeh,” according to three Iranian officials, two of which in the Revolutionary Guards, cited by the New York Times.

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According to the report, the order was given during “an emergency meeting of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council on Wednesday morning.”

#BREAKING: Iran’s supreme leader has issued an order for Iran to strike Israel directly following the assassination of Haniyeh in Tehran, according to three Iranian officials briefed on the order – NYT https://t.co/WlkbvQmwHq

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Here’s what AP Reported:

Hamas’ top political leader was killed Wednesday by a predawn airstrike in the Iranian capital, Iran and the militant group said, blaming Israel for a shock assassination that risked escalating into an all-out regional war. Iran’s supreme leader vowed revenge against Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel “will exact a very heavy price from any aggression against us on any front” but did not mention the killing. “There are challenging days ahead,” he added.

Israel had pledged to kill Ismail Haniyeh and other Hamas leaders over the group’s Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel that sparked the war in Gaza. The strike came just after Haniyeh had attended the inauguration of Iran’s new president in Tehran — and hours after Israel targeted a top commander in Iran’s ally Hezbollah in the Lebanese capital, Beirut.

The assassination was potentially explosive amid the region’s volatile, intertwined conflicts because of its target, its timing and the decision to carry it out in Tehran. Most dangerous was the potential to push Iran and Israel into direct confrontation if Iran retaliates. The U.S. and other nations scrambled to prevent a wider, deadlier conflict.