Israeli minister says his country was willing to kill Iran’s supreme leader

‘If we were in our sights, we would have the eliminated,’ said Defense Minister Israel Katz in an interview with Israeli state radio alluding to the 12 days of direct conflict between Israel and Iran this month. Assembly shows Israeli’s Benjamin Netanyahu, and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader of Iran. Ronen Zvulun/Reuters; Iran/WANA Supreme Leader Office (Western News Agency)/Disclosure via Reuters, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said his army was prepared to kill Iran’s supreme leader, if the opportunity arose during the direct conflict that Isralenses and Iranians crashed for 12 days. “If we were in our view, we would have the eliminated,” Katz told Israeli state radio “Kan” on Thursday night, adding that the army “sought it intensely.” ✅ Click here to follow the G1 international news channel on WhatsApp “Khamenei understood that, went to the basement and cut contact with the commanders,” Katz said, adding that it was not possible to achieve the goal. Katz made similar comments on two Israeli television stations, “Channel 12” and “Channel 13”. During the war, Katz had stated – after Iranian attack that hit the Soraka hospital in the south of the country – that his country “could not allow Khamenei to continue existing.” However, the Israeli minister told “Channel 13” that Israel no longer intends to kill the Iranian leader because “there is a difference between before and after the ceasefire”-the truce in the exchange of attacks between Israel and Iran came into force on Tuesday and, after first turbulent hours and with “scolding” US President Donald Trump, is being respected. However, Katz continued to make threats to Khamenei, as his advice to Ayatollah to stay in the bunker. “He should be inspired by the deceased (Hassan) Nasrallah, who remained in a bunker for a long time. I recommend that he does the same,” said the former leader Lebanese group Hezbollah, Iran’s ally, killed in a Beirut attack in September 2024. Katz said his country maintains air superiority over Iran and is ready to attack, if necessary. “We will not allow Iran to develop nuclear weapons and threaten Israel with long -range missiles,” he told “Channel 12”. In the first pronouncement after US attack, Iran leader sings victory over Israel Katz admitted that Israel did not know the location of Iran’s enriched uranium stocks, but said attacks on nuclear facilities destroyed Tehran enrichment capabilities. “The material itself was not programmed to be neutralized (…) we neutralized the nuclear and missile development of Iran and destroyed all missile factories,” Katz told “Channel 12”, and added that the country “will not allow” Iran to rebuild its nuclear and missile programs. Israel launched an unprecedented attack on Iran on June 13, triggering a war interrupted after 12 days by a ceasefire announced by US President Donald Trump, whose country also participated in the military campaign. The United States and Israel stated that their goal was to interrupt the Iranian nuclear program, which, according to Western powers, seeks to develop an atomic bomb, although Tehran ensures that it is intended for civil purposes.

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