JP: Israel openly weighs assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei

On June 17, Israel’s Defence Minister, Israel Katz, made a striking and unprecedented statement directly threatening Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with a fate similar to that of Saddam Hussein, the former Iraqi dictator, according to the latest material by The Jerusalem Post.

This bold threat marks the clearest sign yet that Israel is seriously considering the possibility of assassinating Khamenei.

Katz’s warning was carefully worded to allow strategic flexibility: while Saddam Hussein was ultimately executed by his own people after being overthrown and on the run from American forces, the message was unmistakable.

Israel implied it could either launch a direct strike against Khamenei or engineer circumstances leading to his removal from power, potentially resulting in his death at the hands of millions of Iranians who oppose his rule.

Previously, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had also mulled the idea of assassinating Khamenei, but only if it promised a swift end to the ongoing conflict and Iran persisted in launching ballistic missiles at Israel.

By Tamilla Hasanova