‘Remember what happened': Israel threatens Iran's Supreme Leader with same fate as Saddam Hussein
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz on Tuesday issued a stark warning to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, suggesting he could meet the same fate as Iraq's former dictator Saddam Hussein. 'Remember what happened to the dictator in the neighbouring country of Iran who took this path against Israel,' Katz said, according to Reuters.
The comparison was a pointed reference to Saddam's 2006 execution, following his conviction for crimes against humanity. The former Iraqi leader was sentenced to death by hanging after an Iraqi court upheld the charges of willful killing, torture, and illegal imprisonment. His half-brother and Iraq's former chief judge were also executed.
The provocative remarks came amid reports that a planned Israeli assassination of Khamenei was halted by US President Donald Trump. A senior US official told Reuters that Trump personally intervened to stop the targeted killing. However, When asked about the report, Netanyahu, in an interview on Sunday with Fox News Channel's 'Special Report With Bret Baier,' said: 'There's so many false reports of conversations that never happened, and I'm not going to get into that.'
'But I can tell you, I think that we do what we need to do, we'll do what we need to do. And I think the United States knows what is good for the United States,' Netanyahu was quoted as saying by Reuters.
Netanyahu insisted that Israel's escalating military campaign against Iran was 'changing the face of the Middle East.' The two nations have been locked in heavy exchanges of fire for five consecutive days, following Israel's surprise aerial assault launched last week.
The conflict reached new heights Monday after an Israeli strike targeted a building housing Iranian state TV. A presenter was forced to flee live on air, and Iranian officials responded with threats to retaliate against Israeli news outlets.
The US has attempted to contain the crisis. President Trump denied American involvement in Israel's offensive but urged Iran to return to the nuclear negotiating table. However, on Tuesday, he issued a warning for all residents of Tehran to 'immediately evacuate,' echoing a prior alert from the Israeli army.
Iran has accused Israel of killing at least 224 people so far, including top Revolutionary Guards officials, nuclear scientists, and civilians. In response, Iran's Revolutionary Guards have launched multiple waves of missile attacks on Israeli cities, vowing the strikes would 'continue without interruption until dawn.'
In Tel Aviv, residents were briefly ordered to take shelter early Tuesday after Iranian missile strikes pushed the Israeli civilian death toll past two dozen.
As tensions grow, US officials have confirmed they are working to evacuate Americans from the region. India, too, has started moving students out of Tehran and facilitating the departure of Indian nationals via Armenia.
(With inputs from Reuters and AP)
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