Israel-Iran conflict: Khamenei can no longer be allowed to exist, says minister Katz
Israel's defence minister said on Thursday that Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei "can no longer be allowed to exist", just days after reports that Washington vetoed Israeli plans to assassinate him.
The comments from Defence Minister Israel Katz came after the Soroka Hospital in the southern city of Beersheba reported 40 people injured after an Iran missile strike.
"Khamenei openly declares that he wants Israel destroyed — he personally gives the order to fire on hospitals," Katz told journalists in Holon near Tel Aviv.
"Such a man can no longer be allowed to exist."
A senior US official told AFP on Sunday that President Donald Trump had "found out that the Israelis had plans to hit Iran's supreme leader".
"President Trump was against it and we told the Israelis not to," said the US official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has neither confirmed nor denied the claim.
In a television interview on Monday, he did not rule it out, saying that killing the 86-year-old cleric who has ruled Iran since 1989 would "end the conflict" between the two countries.
Trump wrote on Tuesday that the United States knew Khamenei's location but would not kill him "for now".
Israel launched strikes on Iran last Friday in what it said was an 11th-hour move to prevent it from acquiring nuclear weapons.
It has since hit hundreds of targets, including military commanders, top nuclear scientists and military and nuclear facilities.
'Regime change'
The movements of the supreme leader, who has not left the Iran since he took over in 1989, are subject to the tightest security and secrecy.
Netanyahu has not said publicly that Israel is trying to topple him, only that regime change could be a result of its military action.
Iranians "understand that the regime is much weaker than they thought — they realise it, and that could lead to results," he told a press conference on Monday.
French President Emmanuel Macron has said that any attempt at forcing change through military action would result in "chaos", while both China and Russia demanded that Israel cease fire.
Iran denies seeking to develop a nuclear weapon and reports citing US intelligence officials this week have cast doubt on Israeli claims that it has accelerated efforts to produce one.
Iran has been enriching uranium to 60 per cent — far above the 3.67 per cent limit set in a 2015 nuclear deal, which Trump abandoned, but still short of the 90 per cent threshold needed for a nuclear warhead.
Israel has maintained ambiguity on its own nuclear arsenal, but the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute says it has 90 nuclear warheads.
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Middle East Eye
18 minutes ago
- Middle East Eye
Israeli officials accused of 'hypocrisy' over Iranian strike that hit hospital
Social media platforms erupted on Thursday, following Israel's condemnation of an Iranian missile strike on Soroka hospital in Beersheba, southern Israel, which the Israeli government labelled a war crime. The Israeli government described the attack as a deliberate violation of international law, citing the targeting of a civilian medical facility. But the condemnation was met with swift backlash online, where many accused Israel of hypocrisy. הקו האדום נחצה. המשטר הדיקטטורי מטהרן עבר את הגבול ופועל כמו ארגון טרור ברברי. הירי למרכז הרפואי ״סורוקה״ ולעבר אוכלוסיה אזרחית הוא פשע מלחמה מתועב. מדינת ישראל, יחד עם שותפינו בעולם החופשי, מחויבים ונחושים לשים לזה סוף אחת ולתמיד. — Uriel Busso-אוריאל בוסו (@BussoUriel) June 19, 2025 Translation: The red line has been crossed. The dictatorial regime in Tehran has crossed the line and is acting like a barbaric terrorist organisation. The shooting at the Soroka Medical Centre and the civilian population is a heinous war crime. The State of Israel, together with our partners in the free world, are committed and determined to put an end to this once and for all. People on social media pointed out that for nearly two years, Israeli forces have systematically dismantled Gaza's healthcare system - bombing hospitals, raiding emergency wards, and forcing medical staff and patients to evacuate under fire. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters For two years, the Israeli Medical Association and its ethics committee have said nothing about Israel's systematic destruction of Gaza's healthcare system, including the annihilation of 35 hospitals, the killing of babies in incubators, and patients in their hospital beds. 1/3 — Ghada Majadli غادة مجادلة (@GMajadli) June 19, 2025 'If attacking a hospital is a war crime, then the radical Jewish extremists are the greatest war criminals. Of the 36 hospitals in the Gaza Strip, only 9 remain operational, all the others having been destroyed by Israeli bombing.' Another added, 'If this is a war crime then so are the IDF's actions bombing every hospital in Gaza,' another person wrote. As of May of this year, just 19 of Gaza's 36 hospitals remain operational, with at least 94 percent of all hospitals in the besieged enclave damaged or destroyed, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). The WHO recorded 697 attacks on healthcare infrastructure by Israel in the Gaza Strip since October 2023. "If this is a war crime then so are the idfs actions bombing every hospital in gaza," another added. 🚨 Reality check: Netanyahu, - You bombed Al-Shifa Hospital, killing patients and doctors. - Flattened Indonesian Hospital, where even ambulances were hit. - Struck Al-Ahli Arab Hospital, where babies died in incubators. - Turned Nasser Medical Complex into rubble. Children… — زماں (@Delhiite_) June 19, 2025 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also addressed the incident, posting a video from the hospital site. 'We accurately hit nuclear targets and missile targets, and they hit a hospital, where people can't even get up and run away. They are harming not far from here - there is a children's and infants' ward here,' he said. A social media user responded, 'Coming from the war criminal who: Bombed 35 hospitals in Gaza. Bombed 2 hospitals in Iran. Bombed 40 Hospitals in Lebanon. You have no self awareness and also the hospital itself was not bombed by Iran, stop placing military facilities near your hospitals.' It is hypocritical for Benjamin Netanyahu to declare the recent bombing of an Israeli hospital by Iran as a war crime when in the first two months of Israel's bombing of Gaza CNN identified 20 out of 22 hospitals as being damaged or completely destroyed. — Pismo Clam (@WaveRambler) June 19, 2025 Israeli Minister of Culture and Sports Miki Zohar said on X that "the evil Iranian regime had crossed all moral lines". One person on X replied, 'You and your equals are the most evil thing that we witness unfortunately. Your evilness can be seen first in Gaza when your evil government destroyed all the hospitals there. Bombing a hospital is evil yes, but look first in the mirror before barking for sympathy…' Many users also took aim at Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz, accusing him of hypocrisy after he said "[Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali] Khamenei will be held accountable for his actions'. Others turned their focus to what they perceived as glaring bias in western media coverage, particularly the stark contrast in how outlets report on Israeli versus Palestinian suffering. Many pointed out that while the strike on Soroka hospital was immediately framed as a deliberate attack by Iran, coverage of Israel's repeated bombings of Gaza's hospitals was often muddled with vague qualifiers or unverified framing. Irish journalist Barry Malone wrote, "The difference between the reporting on a hospital being hit in Israel and the reporting on hospitals being hit in Gaza is a such a striking example of Western media bias. Genuinely could be taught in journalism school." The Palestinian writer and journalist Hamza Yusuf also pointed out the difference in tone, posting: 'No 'health officials say'? No 'according to locals'? No 'Likud-run health ministry claims'? Interesting.' Others argued that Israel had itself paved the way for this moment - that the very normalisation of hospital bombings was a direct result of its own military campaign in Gaza.
Middle East Eye
19 minutes ago
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Trump says he will make a decision on whether to attack Iran within two weeks
US President Donald Trump on Thursday said he will decide whether to attack Iran within a fortnight, as Israel and Iran continued to trade fire for a seventh day after Israel launched unprovoked attacks on Iran beginning on 13 June. "Based on the fact that there's a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks," Trump said in a statement read out by his press secretary, Karoline Leavitt. Trump has kept the world guessing with cryptic social media posts over whether the US would directly intervene. The US is currently involved in a defensive capacity, with its air defence systems intercepting Iranian missiles targeting Israel.
The National
29 minutes ago
- The National
Iran to meet European powers as war with Israel enters second week
Iran will hold talks with European powers on Friday in a first glimmer of peace hopes as its air war with Israel enters a second week. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will meet his counterparts from Britain, Germany, France and the EU in Geneva. French minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Tehran had signalled it was willing to negotiate "provided that a ceasefire can be achieved". US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Mr Araghchi have spoken by phone several times since the air war began, diplomatic sources told Reuters. The White House signalled that President Donald Trump had yet to decide whether to enter the war. Israel widened its attack on Iran's nuclear programme on a seventh day of strikes on Thursday. Fighter pilots hit a heavy water reactor in Arak to stop Iran using it to produce plutonium, the Israeli military said. The factory has been a source of concern as it could provide Iran with an alternative to enriching uranium, and UN inspectors have little knowledge about its operations. The International Atomic Energy Agency said there were "no radiological effects". The Israeli air force also hit an alleged "nuclear weapons development site" near Natanz. Israel walked back from claims it had also hit a functioning nuclear power plant along the Gulf coast. An Iranian diplomat told Reuters that Bushehr was not hit and Israel was waging "psychological warfare" by discussing it. Any attack on the plant, near Arab neighbours and housing Russian technicians, is viewed as risking nuclear disaster. Iran responded with a further wave of strikes. The southern Soroka hospital in Israel was heavily damaged in an apparent ballistic missile attack. The hospital has more than 1,000 beds and provides services to about one million residents of Israel's south. The National heard the sounds of missile interceptions and impacts for at least 10 minutes in Jerusalem. The fire service said there was a 'direct hit' on a residential building in the Tel Aviv area. Israel expressed outrage. Defence Minister Israel Katz said Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei"can no longer be allowed to exist", just days after reports that the US vetoed plans to assassinate him. "Khamenei openly declares that he wants Israel destroyed - he personally gives the order to fire on hospitals," Mr Katz told journalists near Tel Aviv. "Such a man can no longer be allowed to exist." Iran said it had caused only "superficial damage" to the hospital, claiming it had aimed at an Israeli intelligence site nearby. Mr Araghchi contrasted the strike with bombings of Gaza 's medical facilities during Israel's invasion of the strip. 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A UK official said Foreign Secretary David Lammy was ready for talks to "press for a diplomatic solution". An agreement is needed 'to address the nuclear issue for the long term', they told The National. A spokesman for German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he had briefed Sheikh Tamim, Emir of Qatar, on the planned meetings. Ali Larijani, an adviser to Iran's supreme leader, called for resistance against Israel's attacks to force it into negotiations. He said that "nobody is looking for a lengthy war", according to Iranian media. Travel disruption continued around the Middle East. The war has forced the cancellation and delay of hundreds of flights at airports, leaving thousands of travellers stranded abroad. 'The situation is absolutely ridiculous,' Iraqi citizen Mujtaba told The National as he stood outside an Iraqi Airways office in Beirut waiting for a way home. "It's all a farce." Shipping company Maersk said it would pause calling at the port of Haifa in Israel. It will continue to operate vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
