New Delhi: US President Donald Trump reportedly vetoed a Israeli plan to assassinate Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to news agency Reuters which spoke to two senior US officials. The claim has been dismissed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as “false reports”.
According to the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, Israeli leadership had informed their US counterparts of a tactical opportunity to eliminate the top Iranian leader in the wake of Israel’s large-scale airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. However, the Trump team, which remains closely engaged in informal diplomatic channels, advised against targeting political leadership.
Trump in regular touch with Netanyahu
“Have the Iranians killed an American yet? No. Until they do, we’re not even talking about going after the political leadership,” one of the officials told Reuters.
The officials did not confirm whether Trump personally relayed the veto to Israel, but said he has been in regular contact with Netanyahu over the past several days. Tensions between Israel and Iran have flared dangerously after Israel launched “Operation Rising Lion”, targeting key Iranian military and nuclear sites. Iran responded by firing over 200 ballistic missiles, with several reaching Israeli cities.
‘There are so many false reports’
When asked about the Reuters report during an appearance on Fox News’ Special Report with Bret Baier, Netanyahu refused to comment directly.
“There are so many false reports of conversations that never happened, and I’m not going to get into that,” Netanyahu said. “But I can tell you, I think that we do what we need to do, we’ll do what we need to do. And I think the United States knows what is good for the United States.”
