Netanyahu says eliminating Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei would end conflict, not escalate it

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday said killing Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei would end the conflict between the two nations. He defended Israel's ongoing military actions against Iran, saying it is aimed at ending the conflict rather than escalating it.

"It's not going to escalate the conflict, it's going to end the conflict," Netanyahu told ABC News in an interview when asked about reports that US President Donald Trump vetoed an Israeli plan to kill the supreme leader out of concern it would intensify the Iran-Israel showdown.

His remarks came after US President Donald Trump vetoed an Israeli plan to target Iran's Supreme Leader, fearing it could worsen the conflict.

Who is Ayatollah Khamenei

Ayatollah Khamenei, Iran's Supreme Leader since the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989, has ruled in the face of sanctions, near constant international tensions as well as protests that were ruthlessly repressed, most recently the 2022-2023 women-led uprising.

Israel controls skies over Tehran, claims Netanyahu

Earlier in the day, Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that Israel “controls the skies over Tehran” and said his country is “on the way” to achieving its goals of destroying the Iranian nuclear and ballistic missile threats.

Referring to freedom of movement in Tehran’s airspace, a point Israel Defence Forces (IDF) spokesperson Effie Defrin also made earlier in the day, Netanyahu, during a visit to the Tel Nof airbase in central Israel, said that “this is a change in the entire campaign”.

The Israeli military has said that it had destroyed over 120 surface-to-surface missile launchers that had been fired from Iran in overnight missions, and its aircraft now control the skies of Tehran.

Defence Minister Israel Katz and IDF Chief of Staff Lt Gen Eyal Zamir accompanied Netanyahu during the visit.

“The Air Force controls the skies of Tehran. We are on our way to achieving our two objectives: eliminating the nuclear threat and eliminating the missile threat,” the Prime Minister said.

We are on the path to victory, says Netanyahu

"We are on the path to victory, and this is being achieved. Thanks to our heroic pilots and our wonderful ground crews, who are also doing amazing work,” he said.

Netanyahu claimed that Israel is only hitting the targets of the Iranian regime, despite full freedom of movement in their skies, unlike Iran, which is "attacking Israeli "civilians".

“When we control the skies over Tehran, we are hitting these targets, the targets of the regime, unlike the criminal regime of Iran that targets our citizens and comes to kill children and women,” he said.

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