'If he had been in our sights...': Israel Defence Minister says Netanyahu sought to KILL Khamenei but 'couldn't find opportunity'

Israel-Iran Conflict: Amid the shaky ceasefire between Israel and Iran announced after a 12-day war, the Israeli Defence Minister claimed that his army had tried to assassinate the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, Ali Khamenei. Israel Katz said his country failed to do so because the opportunity did not present itself. Talking in an interview with Channel 13, Katz revealed Israel had intentions of assassinating Khamenei, but "there was no opportunity."

“If he had been in our sights, we would have taken him out,” Katz said in the interview. "We wanted to eliminate Khamenei, but there was no operational opportunity," he added. When he was asked if Israel sought the permission of America for its plan to assassinate Khamenei, the defence minister said Israel does not "need permission for these things.”

Katz claimed that since his assassination was on the cards, the Iranian Supreme Leader went “underground to very great depths," which made it tough for the Israeli army to locate him. He also claimed that Khamenei broke off all the contacts with his generals during the 12 ay war. But Khamenei released multiple video messages during the war, and there is no evidence that can confirm he cut off the contacts.

Katz also has claimed that Israel has "green lights" from Donald Trump to launch a fresh strike on Iran if the country is deemed to be making "progress" with its nuclear program. “I do not see a situation where Iran will restore the nuclear facilities after the attack,” the Israeli minister said.

This was after the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's statement on Ali Khamenei during the war. Talking amid the Israel-Iran war, Netanyahu has said that the assassination of the Iranian Supreme Leader would not escalate the conflict, but it would “end the conflict.”