New York Times: Khamenei issues instructions to prepare to attack Tel Aviv
Three Iranian officials familiar with the war plans said that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had instructed the Supreme National Security Council to prepare to attack Israel, The New York Times reported.
The New York Times added, “Officials said that Khamenei made the decision after reviewing a detailed report from senior military commanders on the extent of the damage to Iran’s missile production capabilities, air defense systems around Tehran, vital energy infrastructure, and a major port in the south”.
According to the New York Times, citing officials, Khamenei said that the scope of the Israeli attack as well as the number of casualties – at least four soldiers were killed – were too great to ignore, and that failure to respond would mean admitting defeat”.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that military leaders were preparing a list of dozens of military targets inside Israel, but the attacks were likely to occur after the US elections because Iran was concerned that another wave of tension and chaos in the region could benefit former President Donald Trump in his re-election campaign.
“Iran will stand by its ally Hezbollah, which is at war with Israel in Lebanon and has been subjected to violent attacks on its leadership and arsenal,” Quds Force Commander General Esmail Qaani said in a statement on Thursday.
According to the New York Times, Israeli leaders also indicated their readiness to launch more direct attacks on Iran, if necessary.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that recent attacks on Iran had made Israel capable of inflicting more damage in a second round of strikes.
He added, “Israel today has greater freedom of action in Iran than ever before… We can reach anywhere in Iran according to our needs”.
