Israel Reveals: We Were Targeting Khamenei During the Last War with Iran

In a bold statement, Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz announced yesterday, Thursday, that Israel was seeking to assassinate the top Iranian leader Ali Khamenei during the 12-day war between the two countries, indicating that their opportunity was there if they had managed to reach him.

In an interview with the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation, Katz said: "If Khamenei was within our reach, we would have killed him without a doubt," adding that Khamenei "really understood the danger, went deep underground, and cut off communications with the leaders who replaced those who were assassinated, making the operation impossible."

The minister confirmed that "our policy was based on eliminating the Iranian leader, and we searched for him intensively during the military operation," pointing out a clear difference between the stage before and after the ceasefire, where the opportunities to eliminate him were available during the military operations.

This statement comes after Israel carried out airstrikes on June 13 that led to the killing of several senior Iranian leaders and nuclear scientists, escalating tensions between the two countries.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump previously indicated that Khamenei's life might have been in danger and that a change in the Iranian regime could be a result of this confrontation.

Meanwhile, the White House stated that Khamenei's recent statements were aimed at "saving face" after the war ended with the ceasefire announced on Tuesday.