Iran's Khamenei issued warning to Nasrallah days before Israeli strike Sources claim

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei reportedly warned Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, to flee Lebanon days before an Israeli strike killed him, reflecting growing concerns about Israeli infiltration at the highest levels in Tehran.

According to three Iranian sources, who spoke to Reuters, Khamenei became deeply worried about Israel’s ability to penetrate senior government ranks, Caliber.Az reports.

In the aftermath of the September 17 attack on Hezbollah’s booby-trapped pagers, Khamenei sent an envoy with a message urging Nasrallah to leave for Iran. Citing intelligence reports that Israel had embedded operatives within Hezbollah and was planning his assassination, Khamenei dispatched Brigadier General Abbas Nilforoushan, a senior commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, to meet with Nasrallah in his bunker. Both Nilforoushan and Nasrallah were killed in the subsequent Israeli bombing.

Following the strike, Khamenei, now in a secure location in Iran, ordered a retaliatory missile barrage of about 200 missiles targeting Israel. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards released a statement noting that the attack was in response to the deaths of both Nasrallah and Nilforoushan. The statement also mentioned the July killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, though Israel has not claimed responsibility for Haniyeh’s death.

Israel has since launched a “limited” ground incursion in southern Lebanon, further escalating tensions in the region. Despite inquiries, Iran’s foreign ministry and the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not comment on the incidents.

The death of Nasrallah marks a significant blow to Hezbollah, with the loss of several key leaders over the past two weeks from precise Israeli strikes, including half of Hezbollah’s leadership council and its top military commanders. The group is now struggling to appoint a successor, as ongoing Israeli infiltration threatens the safety of potential candidates.

Hezbollah, founded in the 1980s with Iranian support, has long been a critical element of Iran’s Axis of Resistance, a coalition of anti-Israel groups. However, the recent setbacks have weakened Hezbollah’s military strength and leadership structure, which may prompt Iran to resort to external attacks on Israeli embassies and personnel, a tactic it employed more frequently before the rise of its proxy forces.

According to Magnus Ranstorp, a Hezbollah expert at the Swedish Defense University, the loss of Nasrallah and Nilforoushan has severely damaged Iran’s influence over Hezbollah and its capacity to strike at Israel’s borders. "It shook Iran to the core. It shows how deeply Iran is infiltrated," Ranstorp added, noting that Nilforoushan was a trusted military adviser to Khamenei.

By Tamilla Hasanova