Iran holds emergency council after Israeli airstrike targets Nasrallah
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, summoned the Supreme National Council to an emergency meeting at his home on Friday night after learning that Israel had targeted his close ally, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, in an airstrike in Lebanon, according to three Iranian officials familiar with the meeting.
The Israeli military destroyed several residential buildings in the attack, Israeli and American officials said. It was not immediately clear if Mr. Nasrallah was in one of the buildings at the time.
The initial assessment by Israeli intelligence agencies was that Mr. Nasrallah had been killed, but officials cautioned that the assessment was preliminary and subject to change.
This marked the first time Mr. Khamenei had convened the Supreme National Council, the body responsible for responding to national security threats and shaping foreign and domestic policy, for an emergency meeting since July 31, when Israel assassinated a top Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran.
The meeting coincided with statements from Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and the foreign ministry, condemning Israel’s actions as “an undeniable war crime,” without specifically mentioning Mr. Nasrallah.
A photograph released by state media in July showed Mr. Khamenei leading a prayer over the coffins of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and his bodyguard.
“Iran will pursue the Zionist regime’s latest crime and stand by the people of Lebanon and the resistance,” President Pezeshkian said in a statement.
However, Iranian officials privately expressed concern that Hezbollah’s silence on Mr. Nasrallah’s status suggested grim news. Across the country, officials’ cellphones buzzed with inquiries asking, “Any news from Sayyed?”—a reference to Mr. Nasrallah by his title.
Iran also called for an emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to address the attack.
In an address to the U.N. Security Council on Friday, Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, accused the U.S. of complicity in the Israeli strike, stating that both nations should be held accountable.
“Netanyahu and his allies have become emboldened, dreaming of repeating their carnage in Lebanon and pushing the region toward full-scale war,” Mr. Araghchi said, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “It’s clear they are counting on U.S. support for their campaign of terror and destruction.”
As Iran considers its response, it faces a familiar dilemma: establishing deterrence without triggering an all-out war. Analysts warn that targeting Mr. Nasrallah has escalated tensions between Israel, Iran, and its proxy militias to a more dangerous level.
So far, Iran has avoided being drawn into open war with Israel, a posture analysts believe will likely continue.
“Iran’s stance seems to be that if Israel wants war, it’ll get it on Iran’s terms,” said Ali Vaez, director of the Iran Project at the International Crisis Group. He noted that Israel has decapitated Iranian regional allies in the past, which has fueled radicalization and allowed Iran to continue recruitment.
At midnight in Tehran, government supporters gathered in Palestine Square, waving Palestinian and Hezbollah flags while chanting, “Revenge, revenge,” as shown on Iran’s state television.
Around 1 a.m., Iranian state TV aired appearances from senior officials and military commanders, including anti-Western hardliner Saeed Jalili, a member of the Supreme National Council, to reassure viewers that Hezbollah would endure, even if its top leaders were killed.
Credit: New York Times
