Israel seeks opportunity to assassinate Khamenei and strike Iran's nuclear program

During secret meetings, Israel discussed "killing Khamenei" and destroying nuclear facilities.

On Monday, September 15, Israel's 13 channel published parts of confidential discussions between senior security and military officials in the country. According to the report, in a meeting held on the evening of June 12 in a bunker near Jerusalem, various possibilities for striking Iran's nuclear and political structure were discussed, from attempting to assassinate the Islamic Republic's leader, Ali Khamenei, to undermining the government and forcing Tehran residents to leave the capital.

At the beginning of the meeting, Benjamin Netanyahu emphasized the seriousness of the situation and said: "We are at a historic moment. If we do not take action, Iran will acquire tens of thousands of kilograms of nuclear explosives. If we do not take action, we will no longer exist."

He also stated that the attacks were aimed at “nuclear scientists and command centers of the Iranian government.” According to the released documents, military commanders planned to target the Natanz facility, reduce enrichment capacity, and damage uranium conversion sites. One commander stated in the meeting: “The Fordow site will only be destroyed if the United States attacks, because only Washington has the necessary bunker-busting bombs.”

Some documents show that efforts to gain Washington's cooperation and pressure the US government to participate in the attacks intensified in subsequent meetings. According to Channel 13, the Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs reported that Netanyahu pressed Donald Trump in a phone call to send refueling planes and target Fordow.

The channel also writes that Israeli officials have been looking for an opportunity to assassinate Khamenei. In one of the meetings, Bezalel Smotrich also said that the leader must be found. Defense Minister Yisrael Katz also confirmed that such a goal was on the agenda, but the appropriate opportunity did not arise. Netanyahu said on June 16 about the possibility of targeting the Iranian leader: "I will not go into details so that everything remains open."

Donald Trump also announced in a post on June 17 that he was aware of Khamenei's whereabouts but had no plans to kill him at this time. He wrote: "We are fully aware of where the so-called 'Supreme Leader' is hiding; he is an easy target, but he is safe in his current location. At least for now, we have no plans to eliminate him."

Israeli media reports indicate that the meetings also discussed targeting Iranian civilian infrastructure, including refineries. Israel Katz said in one of the meetings: "If Iran hits our power plants, we will not hesitate to hit their civilian infrastructure as well."

Channel 13 listed the reported losses from the short-lived war as follows: “Israel says it destroyed more than 120 Iranian missile launchers and targeted command centers; in return, Iran responded with more than 500 ballistic missiles and about 1,100 drones, killing 31 people and wounding more than 3,000 in Israel, and forcing at least 13,000 people to flee their homes.”

Israeli Army Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir reported in a meeting that the initial attacks had achieved extraordinary results and that Iran had launched fewer missiles than expected.

Some security officials proposed an end to the war, but Netanyahu insisted against this proposal: "The war is not over. We will continue until we achieve our goals. We are on the verge of victory and our people are strong."