Israel says killing Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei ‘not off limits' as strikes and missile attacks rage on
Iran-Israel conflict: Following the killing of Iran's highest-ranking military officer, the head of its elite Revolutionary Guards Corps and a former national security chief under Operation Rising Lion, Israeli officials have now refused to rule out the possibility of assassinating Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as tensions between the two nations continue to simmer.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, a top Israeli official said the assassination of Iran's top leader is 'not off limits." The official told the outlet that the conflict 'would only end either with Iran voluntarily dismantling its nuclear program or Israel making it impossible for Tehran to reconstitute it."
Channel 12 also quoted a senior Israeli political source as saying the possibility cannot be ruled out. 'Israel is not ruling out the possibility of eliminating Ali Khamenei, but it depends on many factors,' the source said.
The Israeli official's message about Ayatollah Khamenei not being 'off limits' comes after Iran and Israel exchanged missiles and airstrikes on Saturday, following a large-scale Israeli aerial assault the previous day. Israel stated that the strikes were aimed at halting Iran's alleged efforts to develop an atomic weapon. Portraits of Iranian military generals and nuclear scientists, killed in Israel's June 13 attack are displayed above a road, as a plume of heavy smoke and fire rise over an oil refinery in southern Tehran, after it was hit in an overnight Israeli strike, on June 15, 2025. Iran fired a fresh barrage of missiles at Israel, state television announced early on June 15, as the rivals exchanged fire for a third day.
Explosions lit the night skies over Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and shook the buildings below, after Iran retaliated by launching waves of drones and ballistic missiles at Israel.
On Sunday, Iran's health ministry said that majority of injured and killed in Israeli strikes over past days are civilians, mainly women and children, reported Reuters. Rescue personnel work at an impact site following a missile attack from Iran, in Bat Yam, Israel, June 15, 2025. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
One Iranian told AFP that she had "never been in a situation like this" after an Iranian missile hit her home in central Israel early Sunday.
Adding to the latest string of warnings by Israel, the nation's defence minister had earlier warned that 'Tehran will burn' if Iran continues launching missile attacks on Israel.
"If (Iranian Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali) Khamenei continues to fire missiles at the Israeli home front — Tehran will burn,' the Associated Press quoted Israel's defense minister Katz as saying.
Iran and Israel — decade-longe enemies have been locked in shadow conflict that shaped Middle Eastern geopolitics. Though both countries have avoided a full-blown war, the nations have frequently targeted each other through covert operations and, in Iran's case, via proxy groups.
The escalation happened after Israel engaged in a war with Hamas, impounding Gaza and Palestinians in the process.
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