Katz: Netanyahu set goal in November to kill Khamenei; Iran protests moved up war plans
The Times of Israel • • world
Key Points:
- Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz revealed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu set the goal of assassinating Iran’s late supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, in November 2025, with the operation accelerated due to mass anti-regime protests in Iran.
- Initially planned for mid-2026, the assassination timeline was moved up following a dialogue between Netanyahu and then-US President Donald Trump, leading to joint US-Israeli operational planning amid concerns of a preemptive Iranian strike.
- Katz emphasized that both Israel and the US independently decided to attack Iran based on perceived threats, praising Netanyahu for fostering unprecedented cooperation with Trump.
- The current Israeli strikes on Iran are broader and more forceful than the June 2025 campaign, aiming to prevent Iran’s nuclear
