Trump refused an Israeli plan to assassinate Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei in recent days
A senior US official said that US President Donald Trump opposed an Israeli plan to assassinate Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“We discovered that the Israelis had plans to assassinate the Iranian Supreme Leader… President Trump opposed it, and we told the Israelis not to do it,” the US official, who requested anonymity, said.
In response, Israeli National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi told the Israeli Channel 12 that the report that Trump vetoed Khamenei’s assassination was false.
“There is no immunity for political leaders,” the Israeli National Security Adviser added.
“I don’t know of any call from the Iranians for mediation, and I don’t expect them to wave the white flag now,” Hanegbi continued.
On Saturday, Israeli Channel 12 reported that the possibility of Israel resorting to assassinating Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei wasn’t ruled out, noting that taking such a step would depend on several factors.
The Channel 12 correspondent wrote on X, citing a local political source, “Israel hasn’t ruled out the possibility of physically eliminating Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, but such a move would be linked to many factors”.
It’s worth noting that in the first hours of its massive attack on Iran, Israel targeted top-tier military figures and leaders, most notably the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, Major General Hossein Salami; Chief of General Staff Mohammad Bagheri; Deputy Chief of General Staff Gholam Ali Rashid; Commander of the Quds Force Esmail Qaani; and Commander of the Revolutionary Guards Aerospace Force, Amir Ali Hajizadeh.
The Israeli strikes also killed nine senior scientists and experts involved in Iran’s nuclear program.
Israeli attacks also targeted Iranian nuclear facilities, military infrastructure, and oil and fuel storage and depots.
