Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has ordered a direct strike on Israel in retaliation for the killing of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran earlier this week. The two countries exchanged fire earlier this year and recent escalations have led to fears of an all-out regional war.

Both Iran and Hamas have publically blamed Israel for the deadly airstrike on Haniyeh, though Israel has not commented on the killing. Israel has killed a few high-profile political “leaders” in the past few years, making them a potential target.

Israel had promised to take out Haniyeh and other figures in the Hamas leadership after the militant group attacked on October 7th and killed some 1,200 Israelis and saw more than 250 taken hostage. Since then, the Israeli military campaign has killed more than 39,000 Palestinians in the besieged enclave, according to local health authorities, causing severe friction with Iran.

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If Iran does follow through on its threat and attack Israel, World War Three is all but certain.

Khamenei reportedly gave the command after convening Iran’s Supreme National Security Council for an emergency meeting on Wednesday morning following the missile strike, the newspaper said, quoting three Iranian officials speaking on the condition of anonymity, according to a report by RT. 

Haniyeh had been in the Iranian capital for the inauguration of the new President, Masoud Pezeshkian, when a missile struck his accommodation on Wednesday, killing him and one of his bodyguards.

“We consider it our duty to take vengeance,” Iran’s supreme leader said in a statement on Wednesday. Khamenei condemned Israel for attacking Haniyeh while he was a “dear guest in our house.”

The Jewish State has neither confirmed nor denied being behind the assassination. –RT.

“It is unclear how forcefully Iran will respond” to Wednesday’s strike on Tehran which killed Haniyeh, the New York Times wrote. “Iranian military commanders are considering another combination attack of drones and missiles on military targets in the vicinity of Tel Aviv and Haifa, but would make a point of avoiding strikes on civilian targets,” it quoted the Iranian officials as saying.

Another option is “a coordinated attack from Iran and other fronts where it has allied forces, including Yemen, Syria, and Iraq, for maximum effect,” according to the newspaper’s sources.

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