Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katj has said that his country wanted to kill Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khameni during a recent 12-day struggle.
Speaking to Israel’s channel 13, Katz said on Thursday that Israel was not allowed to complete such an operation, combating earlier media reports that Washington had vetoed the murder.
“We wanted to eliminate Khameni, but there was no operating opportunity,” Katz said. Al Jazeera reported that Katz claimed that Khamenei knew about the danger and went deep in hiding, cutting communication with the commanders who were killed in the initial wave of Israel’s attacks to the leaders of the Islamic revolutionary guard corps.
While Khamenei released video messages during the conflict, no evidence confirms that he was cut off from his military commanders. Katz’s comments indicate what a major growth would be, as Khameni serves as a central spiritual person for the real state of Iran and millions of Shia Muslims at the globally.
Al Jazira also stated that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former US President Donald Trump had earlier indicated that the war could lead to change of governance in Iran. Trump posted on social media that the struggle “could make Iran again great.”
The comment took place amidst mixed assessment of damage to Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, which led to attacks on major sites including Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan. Khamenei said on Thursday that the US had “exaggerated” the damage limit.
According to Al Jazeera, Katz said that Israel had a “green light” from Trump, so that Iran should resume nuclear activities again. He said, “I do not have a situation where Iran will restore nuclear facilities after the attack.”
Netanyahu resonated Bhavna, saying that the war had created a “opportunity window” to carry forward diplomatic relations with Arab countries. He said, “We have fought with determination against Iran and have won a great victory. The victory dramatically opens the way to increase the peace agreement,” she said in a video message, referring to the Abraham agreement signed in 2020.
Al Jazeera further mentioned that the 12-day war concluded with an American-flowing ceasefire after Iran’s anti-retracted missile attack on Qatar’s Al Udid Air Base, hosting American soldiers. Iran also announced the victory, saying that it had thwarted Israel’s goals and forced Netanyahu to stop the aggressive attack after the missile attacks, causing widespread damage in Israel. (AI)