Trump vetoed Israeli plan to kill Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, says US official

Israeli officials had recently informed the Trump administration that they had developed a credible plan to kill Khamenei. After being briefed, the White House made it clear that Trump opposed the move, viewing it as dangerously escalatory

Washington: US President Donald Trump vetoed a plan presented by Israel to assassinate Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to a US official familiar with the matter.

Israeli officials had recently informed the Trump administration that they had developed a credible plan to kill Khamenei. After being briefed, the White House made it clear that Trump opposed the move, viewing it as dangerously escalatory, the official said. The source was not authorised to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

---

According to the official, the Trump administration feared that such an action could dramatically escalate Israel’s military campaign against Iran, transforming it into a full-scale regional war and severely destabilizing the Middle East.

When asked about the plan during an interview on Fox News Channel’s Special Report with Bret Baier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not confirm or deny that the US had rejected the proposal. “I think that we’ll do what we need to do. And I think the United States knows what is good for the United States,” Netanyahu said. His office later declined to comment.

Reuters was the first to report Trump’s rejection of the Israeli proposal. Earlier on Sunday, Trump issued a stern warning to Iran against retaliating against US interests in the Middle East. At the same time, he predicted that Israel and Iran would “soon” reach a peace deal to end their escalating conflict.