Katz: Israel sought to assassinate Khamenei during war, but opportunity didn’t present itself

By Stav Levaton

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26 June 2025, 5:29 pm 1 Edit

Stav Levaton is a military reporter for The Times of Israel

Iranian protesters hold their country's flags and posters of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at an anti-US and anti-Israeli rally at Enqelab-e-Eslami (Islamic Revolution) square in downtown Tehran, Iran, June 24, 2025. (Vahid Salemi/AP)

Defense Minister Israel Katz reveals in an interview with Channel 13 that Israel had intentions to eliminate Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, but the opportunity never presented itself.

“If he had been in our sights, we would have taken him out,” Katz said, adding, “We wanted to eliminate Khamenei, but there was no operational opportunity.”

Asked whether Israel had sought American approval for such an action, Katz responded: “We don’t need permission for these things.”