Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued an order on Wednesday, for a direct Iranian strike on Israel in response to the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, according to three anonymous Iranian officials briefed on the matter.

Khamenei gave the order at an emergency meeting of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council in the morning shortly after Iran announced Haniyeh’s death, according to the three Iranian officials, including two members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards, who were not named or authorized to speak publicly about the subject.

Through almost 10 months of war in Gaza, Iran has tried to pressure Israel with sharply increased attacks by its proxies and allied forces in the region, while avoiding an all-out war between the two nations.

In April, Iran made its biggest and most overt attack on Israel, launching hundreds of drones and missiles as a reprisal for an Israeli attack on its embassy compound in Damascus that killed several Iranian military commanders. But even that show of force was telegraphed well in advance, and little damage was done.

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