During the recent 12-day conflict between the two sides, which ended this week with a ceasefire, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz claimed that his country wanted to execute Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Katz’s statement, in which case Israel did not need US approval to kill Khamenei, appears to refute previous media reports that Washington had vetoed the killing.
In an interview with Channel 13 in Israel, Katz stated, “We wanted to eliminate Khamenei, but there was no operational opportunity.”
Katz claimed that Khamenei was aware of the possibility of a suicide attack and went “underground very deeps” to elude contact with commandants who would replace the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps assassinated in the first wave of Israeli airstrikes.
There is no proof Khamenei was disconnected from his generals, despite the fact that he released video messages during the war.
Khamenei’s murder would have caused the conflict to escalate significantly. The supreme leader serves as the de facto head of state in Iran as well as a leading spiritual authority for millions of Shia Muslims around the world.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump both made frequent comments on the potential for regime change. The latter posted a statement on social media last Sunday saying that the conflict would “MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN”.
Katz’s remarks came amid conflicting reports about the destruction caused by US bombings of Iranian nuclear facilities, primarily in response to the US’s attacks on sites in Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. Cambodiaenei claimed on Thursday that the US had “exaggerated” the impact of strikes.
The Israeli defense minister claimed that Trump has given his nation the “green light” to launch another attack on Iran if its nuclear program is found to be “progressing.”
He claimed, “I don’t see a situation where Iran will eventually restart its nuclear facilities.”
Netanyahu, on behalf of him, claimed on Thursday that the war’s outcome “offered a window of opportunity” for further formal diplomatic ties with Arab states.
After Iran launched a missile attack on Qatar’s Al Udeid Air Base, which houses US troops, the conflict came to an end with a US-brokered ceasefire.
“We fought with tenacity against Iran,” the victory read. In an apparent reference to the Abraham Accords, which established official ties between Israel and several Arab nations in 2020, Netanyahu stated in a video address that this victory “opens the door to a significant expansion of the peace accords.”
Source: Aljazeera
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