Iran’s Supreme Leader Warned Nasrallah to Flee Before Israeli Strike, Sources Say

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, reportedly warned Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah to flee Lebanon just days before he was killed in an Israeli airstrike, according to three Iranian sources. The sources claim Khamenei was acting on intelligence suggesting Israeli infiltration within Hezbollah and a plot to assassinate Nasrallah.

A senior Iranian official revealed that Khamenei dispatched Brigadier General Abbas Nilforoushan, a high-ranking commander in the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, to personally deliver the warning to Nasrallah. Both Nilforoushan and Nasrallah were killed when Israeli bombs struck the Hezbollah leader’s bunker on September 17.

In response to the deaths, Khamenei, who has been in a secure location in Iran since Saturday, ordered a retaliatory missile barrage on Israel. Around 200 missiles were launched on Tuesday, according to a senior Iranian official. The Revolutionary Guards stated that the missile strikes were also in retaliation for the July killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, an attack for which Israel has not claimed responsibility.

Nasrallah’s assassination came amid two weeks of targeted Israeli strikes that have severely weakened Hezbollah, eliminating half of its leadership council and decimating its top military command. Israel has also begun a “limited” ground incursion into southern Lebanon, further escalating tensions.

Iran is reportedly grappling with concerns over the safety of its leadership and possible Israeli infiltration within its ranks, which threatens the stability of the “Axis of Resistance,” an alliance of anti-Israel militant groups supported by Tehran.

Neither Iran’s foreign ministry nor the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which oversees Mossad, have responded to requests for comment.