In a first since the recent escalation in tensions, Israel’s Defence Minister Thursday said its military was actively planning to “eliminate” Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei but did not go through with it as the “opportunity never presented itself”.
“If he had been in our sights, we would have taken him out,” Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz was quoted as saying by Times of Israel in his interviews with three major Israeli television news programmes — Channel 13, Kan and Channel 12. He was speaking days after the US-backed Israel-Iran ceasefire came into effect following the 12-day conflict.
Katz also said that the Israeli military was unable to locate Khamenei once he reportedly went into hiding in a bunker. “Khamenei understood this, went very deep underground, broke off contact with the commanders… so in the end it wasn’t realistic,” Katz told Kan.
The latest statement marks Israel’s first public admission of having plotted the killing of Tehran’s top leadership. So far, they had only disclosed details of their plans of targetted attacks on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. While the offensives from both sides were ongoing, Katz had said Khamenei “can no longer be allowed to exist,” reacting to one of Iran’s wave of retaliatory attacks that hit a hospital in Beersheba.
What is Israel’s plan for Khamenei now?
As fragile peace seemed to be holding in the Middle East, Katz, talking to Channel 13, said Israel will not continue with its plan to actively attempt to attack Khamenei now following the ceasefire that took hold two days earlier. “There’s a difference — before the ceasefire, after the ceasefire,” he said.
In another interview with Kan, he also said: “I wouldn’t recommend that he stay tranquil.”
Katza also made a reference to Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group whom Israel killed last year, asking Khamenei to continue staying in the bunker. “He should learn from the late Nasrallah, who sat for a long time deep in the bunker. I recommend that he do the same thing,” he added.
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On US entry into Israel-Iran conflict
In the series of interview, Katz said that Israel did not go into the war knowing the US would join the attack. He added that Tel Aviv was not aware of the exact geographical location of Iran’s enriched uranium.
“We don’t need permission for these things,” he told Channel 13 on whether Israel had sought American approval over its plan to kill Khamenei.
Earlier on June 17, as Iran and Israel traded strikes at each other, US President Donald Trump has warned Tehran and Khamenei that the US knows his location. He said they could eliminate the Supreme Leader but is holding back “at least for now”.
“He is an easy target, but is safe there – We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now. We’re looking for better than a ceasefire…I didn’t say I was looking for a ceasefire. I told them, ‘Do the deal’.” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social warning Iran and Khamenei.
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The Israeli defence minister also said they have a “green light” from Trump to launch an attack on Iran again if it were to make “progress” with its nuclear programme.
Khamenei’s statement after the ceasefire
Without naming Israel directly, Khamenei referred to it as a “fallacious Zionist regime” and congratulated Iran on what he called a “victory” in a post on his official X account on June 19.
“With all that commotion and all those claims, the Zionist regime was practically knocked out and crushed under the blows of the Islamic Republic,” he said after the ceasefire took hold.
Referring to Iran’s retaliatory strike on the US base in Qatar, the Supreme Leader clamed it dealt a direct blow to American military infrastructure. “The Islamic Republic delivered a heavy slap to the US’s face. It attacked and inflicted damage on the Al-Udeid Air Base, which is one of the key US bases in the region,” another post on his account read.
