Putin says ‘don't even want to discuss' possibility of US, Israel killing Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei

Hindustan Times

5 hours ago

Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed hope that the ongoing conflict between Iran and Israel could end with a resolution that suits both the parties. He also offered to help broker a deal between the two nations engaged in trading strikes for almost a week now.
While talking about Israel and the United States' plan to potentially kill Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Putin said that he did "not even wish to discuss" such a possibility.
"I do not even want to discuss this possibility. I do not want to," said Putin.
Track live updates of Israel-Iran conflict here.
"We see that today in Iran there is a consolidation of society around the country's political leadership," AFP news agency quoted him as saying.
"This is a delicate issue, and of course we need to be very careful here, but in my opinion, a solution can be found," he added.
Putin, speaking at a roundtable session with senior news leaders of international news agencies, said that Moscow could help negotiate a deal that allows Iran to pursue a peaceful atomic program while also addressing Israel's security concerns.
Also read: US getting ready for striking Iran, possible this weekend: Report
"This is a delicate issue, and of course we need to be very careful here, but in my opinion, a solution can be found," Putin said, reported AFP. He added that Russia has shared its proposal to reach a resolution with Iran, Israel and the United States.
'We are not imposing anything on anyone, we are simply talking about how we see a possible way out of the situation. But the decision, of course, is up to the political leadership of all these countries, primarily Iran and Israel,' Associated Press quoted Putin as saying.
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Israel struck multiple nuclear and military sites across Iran last Friday under 'Operation Rising Lion', triggering the ongoing conflict. Justifying its actions, Israel said that Iran was close to developing nuclear weapons, which poses an existential threat to Israel.
Rebuffing Putin's offer to help mediate the ongoing Middle East conflict, United States President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he should work on ending his own conflict with Ukraine first.
"I spoke to him yesterday and... he actually offered to help mediate, I said 'do me a favor, mediate your own,'" Trump told reporters at White House.
'I said, 'Vladimir, let's mediate Russia first. You can worry about this later,'' Trump added.
With agency inputs.