Israel’s Defence Minister, Israel Katz, has revealed that the country would have killed Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, during the recent war if the opportunity had presented itself.
“If he had been in our sights, we would have taken him out,” Katz told Israel’s public broadcaster, Kan, on Thursday evening. He added that the military “searched a lot” but couldn’t locate him.
According to Katz, Khamenei was aware of the threat and went into deep hiding. “He went very deep underground, broke off contact with the commanders… so in the end, it wasn’t realistic,” he said.
Speaking later to Channel 13, Katz explained that Israel had suspended its assassination attempts after the ceasefire. “There is a difference between before the ceasefire and after the ceasefire,” he noted.
During the war, Katz had publicly declared that Khamenei “can no longer be allowed to exist,” following reports that the U.S. had blocked Israeli plans to target him.
On Kan, Katz issued a stark warning: “He should stay inside a bunker. He should learn from the late Nasrallah,” referencing former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in a Beirut airstrike in September 2024.
Khamenei’s movements have long been kept secret, and he hasn’t left Iran since assuming power. Katz stressed that Israel still holds aerial superiority over Iran and is ready to act again if necessary. “We won’t let Iran develop nuclear weapons or threaten us with long-range missiles,” he said.
In a separate interview with Channel 12, Katz admitted that Israel does not know the exact locations of all of Iran’s enriched uranium. However, he insisted that Israeli airstrikes had inflicted serious damage on Iran’s nuclear enrichment infrastructure.
“The material itself wasn’t what we were targeting,” he said. “But the infrastructure needed to process it has been hit hard.”
The actual impact of the Israeli and U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear programme remains contested. A leaked U.S. intelligence report estimated the setbacks to be just a few months, while officials from both countries claimed the damage could take years to repair.
The 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran ended with a ceasefire on 24 June, with both sides claiming victory.
