Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei has issued an order to strike back at Israel after the attack that killed Hamas leader Haniya, according to reports to The New York Times (NYT).
Both Iran and terrorist-stamped Hamas accuse Israel, but Israel has not explicitly taken responsibility for the deed. Haniya was in Tehran for the inauguration of Iran's new president.
In response to archenemy Iran, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says, according to a communiqué, that Israel will "exact a very high price for the aggression against us."
I have from the beginning made it clear that we are waging a war against Iran's evil axis powers, he says, and mentions Hamas, Iran-backed Hezbollah, and the Houthi movement in Yemen.
We are prepared for every scenario and we will stand united and determined against all threats, says Netanyahu.
A similar situation arose in April, when Iran launched a broad attack on Israel in response to the bombing of Iran's consulate in Syrian Damascus. However, the strong Israeli air defense meant that the damage was limited.
It is still unclear how Iran will avenge Haniya's death. Sources within the Iranian military say to NYT that they are considering further attacks on military targets near Tel Aviv and Haifa, but that they "want to avoid attacks on civilians."
Since the war in Gaza broke out, Iran has put pressure on Israel with increased attacks from allies in the region. At the same time, Iran has avoided starting a full-scale war against the Jewish state.
