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Donald Trump has reportedly rejected Israel’s proposal to assassinate Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to U.S. officials.
The president reportedly waved off plans presented by Israeli officials who briefed the White House in recent days with a credible plan to kill Iran’s top leader, according to reports citing administration officials. Reuters first reported the discussions.
The Independent has requested comment from the White House.
The Trump administration is publicly holding out for diplomatic talks between the nations to avoid conflict from exploding across the region as Israel bombards Iran in an ostensible attempt to debilitate the country’s nuclear program. A plan to kill Khamenei could likely inflame an already volatile situation and potentially destabilize the region.
“Have the Iranians killed an American yet? No. Until they do we’re not even talking about going after the political leadership,” a senior U.S. administration official speaking anonymously told Reuters.
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A sixth round of negotiations scheduled for Sunday between U.S. and Iranian officials over Tehran’s nuclear program were canceled following a wave of attacks in recent days, and Iran has threatened to target U.S. military installations if the United States continues to support Israel’s defenses against their airstrikes.
When asked about reports of a plot to kill the Ayatollah, Netanyahu did not directly refute allegations but dismissed what he called “false reports” about discussions between the United States and Israel.
“There’s so many false reports of conversations that never happened, and I’m not going to get into that,” Netanyahu told Fox News Channel’s Bret Baier on Sunday.
“But I can tell you, I think that we do what we need to do, we’ll do what we need to do,” he added. “And I think the United States knows what is good for the United States.”
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On Friday, Khamenei warned Tehran will “show no mercy” after Israel’s “grave error” that would bring them “to ruin” as Iranian missiles lit up the skies above Israeli cities.
“They are the ones who have started this and have begun a war,” he said. “We will show them no mercy. Life will definitely become bitter for them.”
On his Truth Social on Sunday, Trump said Iran and Israel should “make a deal” to prevent all-out war between the countries.
Hours earlier, he insisted that the United States “had nothing to do with the attack on Iran” but stressed that his administration would deploy “the full strength and might of the U.S. Armed Force” if U.S. assets are “attacked in any way, shape or form.”
“However, we can easily get a deal done between Iran and Israel, and end this bloody conflict!!!” he wrote.
His message on Sunday compared potential de-escalation talks to what he characterizes as his successful negotiations with India and Pakistan as well as Serbia and Kosovo and Egypt and Ethiopia.
“There is peace, at least for now, because of my intervention, and it will stay that way!” he added. “Likewise, we will have PEACE, soon, between Israel and Iran! Many calls and meetings now taking place. I do a lot, and never get credit for anything, but that’s OK, the PEOPLE understand. MAKE THE MIDDLE EAST GREAT AGAIN!”
But Trump also told ABC News on Sunday that “it’s possible” the United States could get involved.
“We’re not involved in it. It’s possible we could get involved. But we are not at this moment involved,” he said.
Israel and Iran exchanged another round of missile strikes on Sunday, with Israeli missiles reportedly striking two energy facilities in southern Iran. Iran responded with hundreds of ballistic missiles and drone attacks.
“We’re geared to do whatever is necessary to achieve our dual aim, to remove … two existential threats: the nuclear threat and the ballistic missile threat,” Netanyahu told Fox News.
“We did act, to save ourselves, but also, I think, to not only protect ourselves, but protect the world from this incendiary regime,” he said. “We can’t have the world’s most dangerous regime have the world’s most dangerous weapons.”
