Israel again does not rule out killing the ayatollah

To kill or not to kill the Supreme Leader of Iran? The idea continues to be put on the table by several Israeli leaders, albeit in different ways. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz was more categorical, stating that the ayatollah “cannot continue to exist.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, stressed that the death of Ali Khamenei “is not an objective” of the Israeli authorities.

On his personal X account, Israel Katz accused Iran’s Supreme Leader of being a “dictator”: “He is the Hitler of today.” The minister said the ayatollah has been flying the flag of “destruction of the State of Israel.” In doing so, he is “enslaving all the country’s resources to advance this terrible goal.”

הדיקטטור חמינאי הוא היטלר המודרני שחרט על דגלו את השמדת מדינת ישראל ומשעבד את כל המשאבים של המדינה שלו לקידום המטרה הנוראית הזאת.

הוא לא יכול להמשיך ולהתקיים.

— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) June 19, 2025

“He cannot continue to exist,” he reiterated, in a message that he had also already transmitted on Thursday morning. Israel Katz added that he has already given instructions to the Israeli army, which he knows that “in order to achieve all its objectives this man absolutely must not continue to exist.”

For his part, the prime minister moderated his rhetoric, although he did not rule out the possibility of assassinating Iran's Supreme Leader. "I have given instructions that no one in Iran will have immunity," he said. "It is neither appropriate nor necessary to add anything else. We must let actions speak louder than words," Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview with state-run KAN .

Asked about Defense Minister Israel Katz’s words — who stressed that the Supreme Leader “cannot continue to exist” — Benjamin Netanyahu clarified that the objective of the military operation is to “eliminate the nuclear threat.” “Secondly, eliminate the threat of ballistic missiles.”

Still, the Israeli prime minister did not rule out that the regime could suffer a severe blow as a result of these attacks. Overthrowing the ayatollahs “is not an objective, but it could be an outcome.”