Iran Vows to Attack Israel in Retaliatory Strikes Following Hamas Leader’s Death

Iran will launch a retaliatory attack on Israel after Israeli airstrikes killed Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on Wednesday and top Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut on Tuesday, according to three Iranian officials who spoke with The New York Times.

The supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, issued the order during an emergency session of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council. Khamenei later said in a public address, “We see avenging his blood our duty,” adding that Israel will receive “a severe punishment.”

The officials did not clarify when or how the strike would be carried out.

Israeli officials have yet to claim responsibility for the attack on Haniyeh, but Hamas and Iran have both placed blame on Israel.

In a Wednesday address, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said “In recent days, we delivered crushing blows to all of our enemies, Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis,” adding “we eliminated Nasrallah's deputy,” referring to Shukr.

“Israel will charge a very heavy price for any aggression from any arena,” Netanyahu further warned. Netanyahu did not mention Haniyeh in his remarks.

The U.S. previously had a bounty of $5 million on Shukr’s head for his involvement in the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing, which killed 241 U.S. service members.

Regional tensions continue to escalate as Israel, Hezbollah and Iran-backed militias continue their tit-for-tat strikes. On Saturday, a Hezbollah strike on a soccer field in the Golan Heights, a contested area of Israel claimed by both Syria and Israel, killed 12 children and teens, according to the Associated Press.

Netanyahu claimed Tuesday’s strike on Shukr was in retaliation for Hezbollah’s attack. The strike that killed Shukr also killed three and wounded 74, according to Lebanese officials who spoke to The New York Times.

As fears of an Israeli invasion of Lebanon grows, U.S. officials are attempting to thwart a full scale war, while also escalating strikes on Iranian proxy forces and codifying its defense of Israel.

“Our support for Israel’s security is ironclad and unwavering against all Iran-backed threats, including Hezbollah,” a State Department spokesperson told Reuters on Monday, but added they were working on a “durable [diplomatic] solution.”

At the same time, the U.S. carried out an airstrike on a Tehran-backed Iraqi militia, the Popular Mobilization Forces, in the Iraqi town of Musayib on Tuesday. U.S. officials, who were granted anonymity by Reuters, said the forces targeted by the strike sought to launch drone attacks on U.S. and coalition forces.

The Telegraph also reported on Tuesday that U.S. warships were assembling off the Lebanese coast.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin told reporters on Wednesday that “if Israel is attacked, we certainly will help defend Israel,” adding “you saw us do that in April; you can expect to see us do that again,” according to Newsweek.

Austin was referring to an Iranian missile barrage fired at Israel in April following an Israeli airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria. The missiles were intercepted by Israel, U.S., France and the United Kingdom.

Austin affirmed that the Biden administration will “work hard to make sure that we’re doing things to help take the temperature down, and address issues through diplomatic means.”

Vice President Kamala Harris told reporters before she headed to a rally in Atlanta, Georgia, on Tuesday that “[Israel] has the right to defend itself against a terrorist organization, which is exactly what Hezbollah is,” according to France 24.

British Airways, Delta Airlines and United Airlines will cancel all flights to Israel starting Thursday for at least a day but possibly as long as 48 hours, according to i24 News.