‘We wanted to eliminate Khamenei’: Israel’s Defence Minister Katz

Katz says Israel has ‘green light’ from US to onslaught Iran again if Tehran makes ‘progress’ with its atomic programme.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has said that his state wanted to termination Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during the caller 12-day warfare betwixt the 2 sides that ended this week with a ceasefire.

Katz said connected Thursday that Israel would not person needed support from the United States to termination Khamenei, appearing to refute erstwhile media reports that Washington vetoed the assassination.

“We wanted to destruct Khamenei, but determination was nary operational opportunity,” said Katz successful an interrogation with Israel’s Channel 13.

Katz claimed that Khamenei knew an effort connected his beingness was connected the cards, and went “underground to precise large depths”, breaking disconnected interaction with commanders who replaced Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps leaders assassinated successful the archetypal question of Israeli strikes.

Khamenei released video messages during the war, and determination is nary grounds to corroborate that helium was chopped disconnected from his generals.

Killing Khamenei would person been a large escalation successful the conflict. Besides being the de facto caput of authorities successful Iran, the ultimate person is simply a apical spiritual authorization for millions of Shia Muslims crossed the world.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump had some suggested astatine assorted times that the warfare could spark authorities change, the second posting connected societal media past Sunday that the struggle could “MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN”.

Katz’s comments came amid conflicting reports connected the grade of demolition wrought connected Iran’s atomic capability, chiefly arsenic a effect of the US bombing of sites astatine Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan. Khamenei said connected Thursday that the US had “exaggerated” the interaction of strikes.

The Israeli defence curate said that his state has a “green light” from Trump to motorboat different onslaught connected Iran if it were deemed to beryllium making “progress” with its atomic programme.

“I bash not spot a concern wherever Iran volition reconstruct the atomic facilities aft the attack,” helium said.

For his part, Netanyahu said connected Thursday that the result of the war presented a “window of opportunity” for further ceremonial diplomatic agreements with Arab states.

The struggle ended with a US-brokered ceasefire aft Iran responded to the US strikes with a rocket onslaught connected Qatar’s Al Udeid Air Base, which houses US troops.

“We person fought with determination against Iran and achieved a large victory. This triumph opens the way to dramatically enlarge the bid accords,” Netanyahu said successful a video address, successful an evident notation to the Abraham Accords, which established authoritative ties betwixt Israel and respective Arab countries successful 2020.

Iran besides declared triumph aft the war, saying that it thwarted the Israeli objectives – namely ending Tehran’s atomic and ballistic rocket programmes – and managed to unit Netanyahu to extremity the battle with the rocket strikes that near wide demolition successful Israel.

Source:

Al Jazeera and quality agencies