President Donald Trump vetoed a plan presented by Israel to the US to kill Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to a US official familiar with the matter. The Israelis informed the Trump administration in recent days that it had developed a credible plan to kill Khamanei.
After being briefed on the plan, the White House made clear to Israeli officials that Trump was opposed to the Israelis making the move, according to the official who was not authorised to comment on the sensitive matter and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The Trump administration is desperate to keep Israel’s military operation aimed at decapitating Iran’s nuclear programme from exploding into an even more expansive conflict and saw the plan to kill Khamenei as a move that would inflame the conflict and potentially destabilise the region.
Asked yesterday about the plan during an interview on Fox News Channel’s “Special Report with Bret Baier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not directly address whether the White House rejected the plan.
“But I can tell you, I think that if 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. Netanyahu’s office declined to comment on the reports, reports The Associated Press.
Trump’s rejection of the proposal was first reported by Reuters. Trump yesterday issued a stark warning to Iran against retaliating on US targets in the Middle East while also predicting Israel and Iran would “soon” make a deal to end their escalating conflict. Trump in an early morning social media posting said the United States “had nothing to do with the attack on Iran” as Israel and Iran traded missile attacks for the third straight day.
Iran, however, has said that it would hold the U.S.—which has provided Israel with much of its deep arsenal of weaponry—for its backing of Israel. Israel targeted Iran’s Defence Ministry headquarters in Tehran and sites it alleged were associated with Iran’s nuclear programme, while Iranian missiles evaded Israeli air defences and slammed into buildings deep inside Israel.
“If we are attacked in any way, shape or form by Iran, the full strength and might of the US Armed Forces will come down on you at levels never seen before,” Trump said. Hours later Trump took to social media again to predict “Iran and Israel should make a deal, and will make a deal.”
The US president said he has a track record for de-escalating conflicts, and that he would get Israel and Iran to cease hostilities “just like I got India and Pakistan to make” after the two countries’ recent crossborder confrontation.
India struck targets inside Pakistan after militants in April massacred 26 tourists in Indian-controlled Kashmir. Pakistan has denied any links to the attackers. Following India’s strikes in Pakistan, the two sides exchanged heavy fire along their de facto borders, followed by missile and drone strikes into each other’s territories, mainly targeting military installations and airbases.
