IRGC puts missile forces on alert, seeks Khamenei approval to strike Israel

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have put their missile units on full alert after Israeli strikes on Hezbollah’s headquarters in Beirut, with commanders requesting authorization from Mojtaba Khamenei’s office to launch missile attacks on Israel, two sources close to Iran’s military forces told Iran International.

In recent hours, senior IRGC commanders have sent a formal request to the office of Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei seeking authorization to launch missile attacks on Israel, the two sources said.

Neither Khamenei nor his office has responded to the request, and it remains unclear whether the attack will be approved, the sources added.

The alert follows an earlier warning by Ali Abdollahi, commander of the Khatam al-Anbia Central Headquarters, that northern Israel would be targeted by missile attacks if Beirut came under attack.

Following the IRGC’s evacuation warning, Israel temporarily refrained from a broad attack on Beirut after mediation and direct pressure from US President Donald Trump, and tensions subsided for a time. But Sunday’s Israeli fighter jet attacks on Dahiyeh have once again sharply raised the possibility of direct conflict.

Earlier, Ebrahim Rezaei, spokesman for parliament’s National Security Committee, has also threatened Israel and declared that “tonight, one must await a response in the sky over the occupied territories.”

The sources said Iran’s Revolutionary Guards are concerned that staying silent over Israel’s attacks on Dahiyeh would encourage Israel to intensify its attacks on Hezbollah.

Military commanders also believe that failing to act on declared red lines would severely weaken morale among Hezbollah’s shaken rank and file and endanger the Islamic Republic’s standing among its allied groups.

At the same time, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of parliament, has also threatened that Iran will target US bases and interests in the region in response to these attacks.

In contrast, Masoud Pezeshkian’s government, expressing serious concern about these movements, has warned that any hasty action by the IRGC will give Israel the necessary pretext for a heavy retaliation and drag the country into another full-scale and devastating war.

According to information received by Iran International, Pezeshkian’s administration believes Iran is not currently in a position to enter a new conflict, and that a wider war would halt sensitive ongoing negotiations with the US and make the economic and military situation extremely difficult to control.