Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday did not rule out plans to eliminate Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, saying it would “end the conflict” between the two arch-enemies.
In a 20-minute interview with US network ABC News, Israel’s leader claimed that his country’s lethal aggression to “defang” Iran was acceptable, comparing Khamenei to a “modern Hitler”.
When asked about accusations that US President Donald Trump vetoed an Israeli plan to assassinate the supreme leader due to concerns that it would intensify the Iran-Israel conflict, Netanyahu dismissed the claims.
“It’s not going to escalate the conflict; it’s going to end the conflict,” he said.
“The ‘forever war’ is what Iran wants, and they’re bringing us to the brink of nuclear war,” Netanyahu said.
“In fact, what Israel is doing is preventing this, bringing an end to this aggression, and we can only do so by standing up to the forces of evil.”
Netanyahu did not specify whether Israel was targeting the ayatollah, saying simply, “We’re doing what we need to do.”
Netanyahu has maintained an uncompromising stance while Israel launches punitive strikes against Iran and the Islamic Republic responds with volleys of missile fire.
In an effort to engage with his country’s main ally, the prime minister has given long American media interviews twice in as many days, presenting Israel’s struggle with Iran as “a battle of civilisation against barbarism”.
He emphasised Monday that Americans should be profoundly concerned about Iran’s aspirations to develop a nuclear bomb as well as its growing ballistic missile capacity.
“Today it’s Tel Aviv; tomorrow it’s New York,” Netanyahu told ABC correspondent Jon Karl.
Netanyahu berated Khamenei’s “anti-Semitic, mad fanaticism” and support for proxy attacks aimed at “snuffing out the life” of Israel.
“He’s like a modern Hitler. He just will not stop, but we’re going to make sure that he doesn’t have the means to carry out his threats.”
In defending Israel’s comprehensive attacks, Netanyahu claimed that delaying Iran’s nuclear development is “preventing the most horrific war imaginable and… bringing peace to the Middle East”.
“That will be possible if Iran is defanged,” he added.
