Israel-Iran conflict: Trump vetoed Israel's plan to kill Iran's Khamenei, claims report; asked ‘have they killed an American?'
President Donald Trump recently blocked an Israeli plan to assassinate Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to two US officials who spoke to Reuters.
The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Israeli forces had identified a window to kill Khamenei as part of their expanding military campaign against Iran, but Trump intervened.
'Have the Iranians killed an American yet? No. Until they do we're not even talking about going after the political leadership,' said a senior US administration official.
Trump has been in frequent contact with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the ongoing strikes. When asked about the report during an interview with Fox News, Netanyahu responded, '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.
'
Earlier, a senior Israeli official told The Wall Street Journal that targeting Khamenei was 'not off limits' and indicated that Israel was shifting from focusing solely on nuclear sites to striking at Iran's leadership. Israel has already claimed responsibility for assassinating nine nuclear scientists and several top military officials in recent months under 'Operation Rising Lion'.
One such strike reportedly caused a structural collapse at Iran's Natanz enrichment facility.
The tit-for-tat conflict has escalated sharply. Iran's latest missile barrage under 'Operation True Promise III' triggered air raid sirens across Israel, including in Tel Aviv. In retaliation, Israeli jets struck key locations in Tehran. Supreme Leader Khamenei, in a televised address, declared: 'We will not permit them to evade consequences for this significant wrongdoing they have perpetrated.'
While tensions soar, Trump has maintained a cautious stance, urging restraint. 'We knew everything' about the Israeli strikes, he told Reuters on Friday. He has also repeatedly emphasised the need for diplomacy, writing on social media, 'Iran and Israel should make a deal, and will make a deal.' Trump has pointed to his role in de-escalating the India-Pakistan conflict as proof of his diplomatic credentials.
However, this balancing act is testing Trump's foreign policy promises. Allies like Tucker Carlson and Senator Rand Paul have urged him to keep America out of the conflict. 'It's not the US's job to be involved in this war,' Paul said.
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