New Delhi: Tension escalated between Iran and Israel a day after Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh was killed in a strike in Iran. Although Israel has not issued any statement taking responsibility for killing Haniyeh, Iran has ordered a direct strike on the country.
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has ordered Iran to strike Israel directly, in retaliation for the killing of Haniyeh in Tehran, the New York Times reported, citing three Iranian officials.
Khamenei gave the order at an emergency meeting of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council on Wednesday morning, after Iran announced that Haniyeh had been killed.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel “will exert a cost” from anybody who attacks it “from any arena”.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) met on Wednesday to discuss the escalating tensions in the Middle East. The council called for calm in the region amid fears of a wider war.
Both Iran and Israel appealed to the UN Security Council on Wednesday to strongly condemn the other for recent deadly attacks.
“The Security Council should take immediate steps to hold Israel accountable for this act of aggression,” Iranian Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani said during the meeting.
“This includes considering the imposition of sanctions and other measures that are necessary to prevent further violations and to signal that Israeli malevolent activities will not be tolerated by the international community,” he added.
As for Israel, it did not issue any statement on Haniyeh’s killing but took responsibility for an airstrike in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, that killed senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr. “This operation sends a clear message: We will defend ourselves and respond with great force against those who harm us,” Israeli Deputy Ambassador Jonathan Miller told the council.
He urged the council to hold Iran accountable with new sanctions saying Iran funds and arms both Hamas and Hezbollah, as per the report.
