Assassination of Hamas leader Khamenei orders Iran to strike Israel

The supreme leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, has ordered an immediate attack on Israel in response to the assassination in Tehran of the leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh.

The news is reported by the New York Times citing three Iranian officials who have been informed of the orders.

Khamenei issued the order during an emergency meeting of Iran's Supreme National Security Council.

The leader of the militant group Hamas. Ismail Hanijeh was killed on Wednesday morning in an airstrike allegedly carried out by Israel. He was killed in Tehran, just hours after attending the inauguration of Iran's new president.

His killing comes at a time when the United States and states in the region are trying to prevent an escalation of the conflict in the Middle East and adds to concerns of an open regional war.

Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei vowed to retaliate, while US officials said they were unaware of and involved in the attack while calling for continued negotiations to avoid war.

In the first statement since the killing of the Hamas leader, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would "respond strongly to any aggression against us on any front," but did not mention the killing of the militant leader. "Challenging days await us." he added.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard and the militant group Hamas announced that Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Tehran in an airstrike before dawn on Wednesday. He was killed at the residence he was using while in the Iranian capital, hours after he was seen smiling and shaking hands with attendees at the inauguration ceremony of Iran's new president and after meeting Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.