NEW YORK, February 2. /TASS/. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has ordered to avoid a direct military confrontation with the United States, The New York Times reported, citing sources.

According to the newspaper, Iran's Supreme National Security Council held an emergency meeting earlier this week. It discussed measures Tehran would have to take if Washington attacked Iran or its supporters following the deaths of three US servicemen in a drone strike in the Al-Tanf area on the Syrian-Jordanian border. Washington suspects that the Iraqi-affiliated Shiite group Kataib Hezbollah, which is part of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, was involved in the attack.

When Ali Khamenei was informed of the outcome of the meeting, he gave clear orders: to avoid direct war with the United States and to distance Iran from the actions of the groups involved in the deaths of Americans, the newspaper said. According to it, at the same time, the supreme leader ordered to prepare a retaliatory strike if the United States attacks Iran.

Multiple sources told the New York Times that Iran's armed forces have been put "on the highest alert," ballistic missiles have been deployed along the border with Iraq, and air defense systems have been activated.

Missile and drone attacks on US military bases in Iraq and Syria have increased since the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in Gaza escalated last October. Shiite militias have warned that they will increase the number of armed operations in Iraq and Syria if the US continues to provide military aid to Israel.