NYT-Iran Orders Strike On Israel Following Haniyeh Killing

The New York Times is reporting that according to Iranian officials briefed on the matter, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei "has issued an order for Iran to strike Israel directly, in retaliation for the killing in Tehran of Hamas’s leader, Ismail Haniyeh,". Israel has not commented on the killing of Haniyeh, neither confirming nor denying its involvement.

• Since the incident, as well as the airstrike on Beirut that killed Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr, there has been significant international concern that a direct Israel-Iran conflict in the Middle East could erupt.
• Iran has previously launched a direct attack on Israel, firing hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel in April following an Israeli strike on an annex to the Iranian consulate in Damascus. The Iranian response was well signalled in advance, with Israel shooting down the large majority of projectiles. As such, the incident was viewed as relatively non-escalatory.
• There is the prospect that Iran utilises its so-called 'axis of resistance' in the region, formed by Lebanese Hezbollah, the Houthis in Yemen, and a number of Shia militias in Syria and Iraq, to strike at Israel.
• In recent hours Iran's acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani has engaged in phone calls with his counterparts in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt and Turkey to discuss the situation. Ariel Oseran at Israel's i24 News posts on X: "Following Iran’s April attack on Israel, it was learned that Iran gave prior notice to counties in the region of its plan to attack. The late hour could indicate a certain urgency on Iran’s part."