Israeli officials have refused to rule out the possibility of an assassination bid against Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei amid an escalating clash. Both countries have launched a barrage of missiles over the past two days — killing dozens including top military leaders and nuclear scientists in Tehran.
A top Israeli official told The Wall Street Journal that the possibility of assassinating Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei remained on the table amid escalating tensions. Tel Aviv has reportedly not ruled out any potential targets to destroy the nuclear program and killing Khamenei was “not off limits”. The official also insisted that the ongoing conflict “would only end either with Iran voluntarily dismantling its nuclear program or Israel making it impossible for Tehran to reconstitute it”.
Tel Aviv has launched hundreds of airstrikes over the past two days and killed several key leaders in the theocratic nation. According to officials, nine senior scientists and experts involved in the Iranian nuclear program as well as multiple top generals have died amidst the attacks. The initial strikes launched on Friday had killed the highest-ranking military officer in Iran, the head of its elite Revolutionary Guards Corps and its air force and a former national security chief.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — who has made the destruction of Iran’s nuclear program his top priority — also claimed that the Israeli strikes were “nothing compared to what they will feel under the sway of our forces in the coming days”. He also claimed during a video broadcast on Friday that the attacks would continue for “as long as necessary, to distance and remove the threat as much as we can”. Israeli military officials have so far declined to confirm how long the airstrikes against Iran will continue — while others said it could ‘last for as long as two weeks’.
The latest exchange of strikes between Israel and Iran resulted in civilian casualties and intensified fears of a broader regional conflict, with both militaries urging civilians on the opposing side to take precautions against further strikes.