Israeli official dismisses report of Trump vetoing Khamenei strike, says targeting leadership not currently on the table but situation could shift rapidly.
Reuters, citing two US officials, reported on Sunday that US President Donald Trump vetoed an Israeli plan in recent days to eliminate Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“Have the Iranians killed an American yet? No. Until they do, we’re not even talking about going after the political leadership,” a senior US administration official told Reuters.
Axios reporter Barak Ravid backed up the Reuters report, quoting a US official, who said: “Since the operation commenced, the Israelis had an opportunity to kill the Supreme Leader. We communicated to the Israelis that President Trump is opposed to that. The Iranians haven’t killed an American, and discussion of killing political leaders should not be on the table.”
National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi denied the report, telling Keren Marciano on Channel 12, that the report is “fake news from the land of fake news. We did not request it, and we are not requesting it. The Americans make decisions based on their own interests.”
Hanegbi added, “There is no immunity for political leaders. The initial decision was not to target the political leadership. At present, that is not the decision — but everything can change within 60 seconds.”
An Israeli official told the Wall Street Journal on Saturday that Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is “not off limits” as Israel continues an intensified air campaign targeting the Iranian nuclear program.
The official emphasized that Israel is not restricting its objectives to nuclear sites alone, but is also aiming to weaken Iran’s political and military leadership. He stated that Israel has already eliminated nine scientists key to Tehran’s uranium enrichment efforts, alongside several senior Iranian generals.
