DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran will carry out an order from the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to “severely punish” Israel for the assassination of a Hamas leader in Tehran, a deputy commander of the Revolutionary Guards was quoted as saying on Friday by local news agencies.
“The supreme leader’s orders on Israel’s harsh punishment and revenge for the blood of the martyr Ismail Haniyeh are clear and clear … and they will be implemented in the best possible way,” Ali Fadavi was quoted as saying by Iranian media.
Asked by reporters to respond to the Iranian statements, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said the United States is ready to defend Israel with plenty of resources in the region.
“When we hear rhetoric like that, we have to take it seriously, and we do,” he said.
(Reporting by Dubai Newsroom; Additional reporting by Steve Holland; Editing by Alex Richardson and Diane Craft)