Iran warned Hezbollah leader about Israel's preparations for his assassination - Reuters
Photo: Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei (Getty Images)
Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei warned Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah that Israel was preparing to assassinate him, just days before the strike, Reuters informs.
As an Iranian official told the news agency, immediately after Hezbollah's pagers were detonated on September 17, Khamenei sent Nasrallah a message along with an envoy, urging him to leave for Iran.
He referred to intelligence reports suggesting that Israel was planning to assassinate the Hezbollah leader.
According to the official, the envoy was a senior commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, Brigadier General Abbas Nilforoushan, who was with Nasrallah in his bunker when Israeli bombs hit, and he was also killed.
The Iranian official also stated that Khamenei, who has been in a secure location in Iran since Saturday, personally ordered the launch of about 200 rockets at Israel on October 1. The attack was revenge for the deaths of Nasrallah and Nilforoushan.
Assassination of Hezbollah leader
On September 28, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. He was killed as a result of an airstrike on the capital of Lebanon.
For more details on what is known about Hassan Nasrallah and why he became a target of Israel's attack, read the RBC-Ukraine material.
