Israel Admits to Plotting Assassination of Iran’s Ayatollah Khamenei After Extensive Search

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has disclosed that Israel's military had actually weighed on the cards a targeted killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the recent upsurge of hostilities between the two countries — but dropped the plan for lack of a suitable opportunity.

In a series of unusual primetime interviews aired by Channel 12, Channel 13, and the government-owned Kan network, Katz finally confirmed that Khamenei was specifically targeted at the peak of the fighting. The operation, he said, was aborted after the Iranian leader hid in underground locations.

If he were in our crosshairs, we would have eliminated him," Katz said to Channel 13. "We looked a lot," he further added.

This is the first public admission by a top Israeli official of a targeted scheme against Iran's supreme political and religious leader, a deviation from previous operations that had targeted only Iran's nuclear and military facilities.

Telling Kan, Katz described the difficulties of implementing the plan. "Khamenei grasped this, went exceedingly deep underground, severed relations with the commanders. so ultimately it wasn't realistic," he said.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump also issued inciting statements during the conflict. On June 17, Trump posted on Truth Social and seemed to refer to a similar threat: "We know exactly where the so-called 'Supreme Leader' is hiding. He is an easy target, but is safe there — We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now."

Trump subsequently clarified that regime change was not included in the policy at present.

The aim of Israel, according to Katz, had not been to oust Iran's rulers but to destabilize the regime temporarily in the middle of the operation and place psychological pressure. "The objective was not regime change in and of itself, but to disrupt the regime in the middle of the action and pressure the Iranians," he said.

Katz also likened Ayatollah Khamenei to late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was assassinated last year in an Israeli attack. "I would not suggest that he remain calm," Katz cautioned. "He must take a lesson from the late Nasrallah, who remained inside the bunker for so long. I suggest he do the same thing."

Following the ceasefire that came into effect two days ago, Katz indicated that Israel no longer seeks to pursue Khamenei’s life. “There’s a difference — before the ceasefire, after the ceasefire,” he told Channel 13.

In his first public outing since the ceasefire was declared, Ayatollah Khamenei rejected Western assertions that Iran's nuclear program had been critically damaged. He described reports that key infrastructure were crippled as lies.

"American president overestimated things in unusual ways," Khamenei said. "It turned out that he needed this exaggeration."

He also announced Iran the winner of the war and praised the nation's retaliatory attacks as a robust message to enemies. "The Islamic Republic emerged victorious, and in response gave a harsh slap on the face of America," he said.

Iranian authorities claim that 627 civilians were killed by Israeli airstrikes. In comparison, Iran's retaliatory missile attack killed 28 Israelis, Israel's government says.