Israel decided to kill Khamenei in November, defence minister says

Israel took the decision to ​kill Iran's Supreme Leader Ali ​Khamenei in November and ‌was planning to ​carry out the operation around six months later, Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Thursday. Khamenei ‌was killed in the first hours of the U.S.-Israeli air campaign that began on Saturday in the first assassination of a country's top ruler by ‌an airstrike.

The joint air assault is nearing the end of its ‌first week after opening salvos killed the country's leaders and set off a regional war, with Iranian attacks in Israel, the Gulf and Iraq, and Israeli attacks against Iran's ⁠ally ​Hezbollah in Lebanon. "Already ⁠in November we were convened with the prime minister in a very tight forum and ⁠the prime minister (Benjamin Netanyahu) set the goal of eliminating Khamenei," Katz told Israel's N12 ​TV news. The timing was set for mid-2026, he said.

The ⁠plan was eventually shared with the Washington and brought forward around January after protests broke ⁠out ​Iran, when Israel was concerned its pressured clerical rulers might launch an attack against Israel and U.S. assets in the Middle East, Katz ⁠said. Israel has said its aim is to eliminate the existential threat it sees ⁠in Iran's ⁠nuclear programme and ballistic missile project, and to bring about regime change. Iran's rulers have so far shown no sign ‌of ‌relinquishing power.