JERUSALEM (VINnews) — After its initial shock at the bold assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, the Iranian leadership has responded belligerently. Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has ordered a direct strike on Israel for the killing of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh, according to a media report Wednesday.
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Citing three unnamed Iranian officials briefed on the matter, including two Revolutionary Guard members, the New York Times reported that Khamenei gave the directive at an emergency meeting of the Supreme National Security Council held shortly after Haniyeh’s killing was announced Wednesday morning.
As part of the order, the officials said Khamenei told commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Iranian Army to prepare both attack and defense plans “in the event that the war expands and Israel or the United States strike Iran.”
Khamenei had hosted Haniyeh, who was visiting Tehran for the swearing-in ceremony of new Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, for a meeting on Tuesday hours before he was assassinated in a secret apartment in northern Tehran.
Khamenei himself led funeral prayers at a Thursday morning memorial event for Haniyeh in Tehran. Thousands of mourners with posters of Haniyeh and Palestinian flags gathered on Thursday at Tehran University.
Following the prayers, massive crowds accompanied the body of Haniyeh and his bodyguard also killed in the strike on Wednesday, in a 5km (3-mile) funeral procession through Tehran towards Azadi (Freedom) Square.
Haniyeh’s body will then be flown to the Qatari capital, Doha, for burial.
Israel has yet to comment on the incident, which came amid its war with Hamas terror group in the Gaza Strip and just hours after an IDF strike in Beirut killed the top military commander of fellow Iran-backed Hezbollah. With Israel on high alert for a possible response, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu warned in an address to the nation on Wednesday evening 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.
“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.
The Iranian officials quoted by the New York Times said that among the options being weighed is a combined drone and missile assault — similar to Iran’s direct attack on Israel several months ago — on military targets around Tel Aviv and Haifa. They asserted Iran would go out of its way not to strike civilian sites.
They also said military commanders are considering launching the attack in coordination with Iranian proxies around the region “for maximum effect,” naming Yemen, Syria and Iraq among the countries where Iran’s allies operate.
Well, I hope that Netanyahu will stop giving tough speeches and start playing for checkmate. A few dozen well placed missiles can destroy the largely unprotected Iranian oil fields; without the petrodollars Iran won’t be able to wage any protracted wars. The Iranian nuclear facilities may be harder to reach, but Israel doesn’t have a luxury of choice, and as such every effort must be made to completely wipe out, not to slow down, the Iranian nuclear program. Another wonder: if Israel posseses such advanced capabilities as being able to fire a precise missile at a terrorist inside Iran, why haven’t they fired such missiles at the ayatolas and the entire Iranian government, especially a few years ago when the Iranian people were trying to overthrow the islamonazi regime.
During Haniya’s funeral, Khameni was seen lokking up , apparently concerned about drones killing him. This regime is shaking, don’t be shocked if Israel will take him out in Teheran.
And what has Iran been doing up till now? Funding attacks on Israel from two sides. And it recently launch a failed drone attack on Israel. The notion that this will somehow trigger them to do something is absurd.
This week us forced attacked a terrorist strong hold in Iraq killing numerous civilians. Didn’t hear a peep about it from anyone
Irans last attack on Isreal was a disaster and showed how poorly they are armed and defended . I’m sure they will do something so the moslem world still will believe they are the leaders. But they are shaking and know they can be taken out any time Isreal wants
Can’t even protect the most secure area in Their capital