U.S. President Donald Trump recently blocked an Israeli plan to assassinate Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, two U.S. officials claimed on Sunday.
“Have the Iranians killed an American yet? No. Until they do, we’re not even talking about going after the political leadership,” said one of the sources, a senior U.S. administration official.
The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said top U.S. officials have been in constant communications with Israeli officials in the days since Israel launched a massive attack on Iran in a bid to halt its nuclear program.
They said the Israelis reported that they had an opportunity to kill the top Iranian leader, but Trump waved them off of the plan.
The officials would not say whether Trump himself delivered the message. But Trump has been in frequent communications with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
When asked about the Reuters report, Netanyahu, in an interview on Sunday with Fox News Channel’s “Special Report With Bret Baier,” said: “There are so many false reports of conversations that never happened, and I’m not going to get into that.”
“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,” Netanyahu said.
Trump has been holding out hope for a resumption of U.S.-Iranian negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear programme. Talks that had been scheduled for Sunday in Oman were cancelled as a result of the strikes.
Trump told Reuters on Friday that “we knew everything” about the Israeli strikes.
Israel-Iran Conflict
The ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran has entered a dangerously volatile phase, with both nations exchanging missile strikes in a dramatic escalation of hostilities.
What began as covert operations and proxy battles has now exploded into direct confrontation, with missile barrages targeting military assets, strategic infrastructure, and border regions.
The recent Israeli airstrikes inside Iranian territory marked a significant shift from shadow warfare to open conflict. In retaliation, Iran launched a wave of ballistic missiles and drones toward Israeli targets, prompting fears of a full-blown regional war.
This tit-for-tat missile warfare underscores the deepening enmity between the two arch-rivals. The conflict is not only destabilising the Middle East but also drawing global concern, as major powers urge restraint to avoid a broader war.
With civilian casualties mounting and diplomatic channels narrowing, the prospect of de-escalation appears bleak.
Both sides have hardened their rhetoric, and military preparations on either side suggest that further strikes are likely. As tensions rise, the international community watches anxiously, aware that any miscalculation could ignite a much larger conflagration.
(With inputs from Reuters)
