IRAN has ordered an attack on Israel following the killing of Hamas’s leader, Ismail Haniyeh, Iranian officials have said.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, issued the order during an emergency meeting of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council on Wednesday morning, just after Iran claimed that Haniyeh had been slain.
Ismail Haniyeh was killed in a suspected Israeli strike on Monday
GettyIsmail Haniyeh with Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has vowed to seek revenge for his death[/caption]
Iran, a staunch backer of Hamas, said it is “Tehran’s duty” to seek “revenge for Ismail Haniyeh’s blood” after he was killed in the capital.
The Middle East is now teetering at its most tumultuous point since the October 7 massacre last year which sparked a brutal war in Gaza.
Iran and Hamas accused Israel of the assassination.
But Israel, which is at war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, has neither admitted nor denied murdering Mr. Haniyeh, who was in Tehran to attend Iran’s new president’s inauguration.
Israel has a lengthy history of assassinating rivals abroad, including Iranian nuclear scientists and military commanders.
Iran’s chilling order came shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu broadcast speech on Wednesday night.
Speaking at a news conference in Tel Aviv, the PM said that when it comes to threats against Israel, the country is prepared for any scenario.
He vowed: “Israel will make anyone who is against us pay a very heavy price.”
Netanyahu added he “will not give in” to voices calling for the end to the war.
“There has not been a single week when I have not been told domestically and from outside the country: end the war,” he said.
“I did not give in to those voices and I will not give in to them today.”
The Israeli Prime Minister also said the government has made “brave, courageous decisions” despite external pressure.
He said: “We will continue to fight together, and with God’s help, we will reign victorious.”
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