Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday issued a veiled threat to kill Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei even as he acknowledged that a joint Israeli-US air war may not lead to the collapse of Tehran’s clerical government.
In his first press conference since the start of the war, the Israeli leader said Iran was “not okay” after nearly two weeks of bombings and that Tehran had dealt a blow to its Revolutionary Guards and Basij militia.
He vowed to continue hitting Lebanon’s Hezbollah after the Iran-backed group opened fire on March 2 in retaliation for Israel’s assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei – Mojtaba Khamenei’s father – at the start of the war.
Standing between two Israeli flags and fielding questions over a video link, Netanyahu was asked what action Israel might take against Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei and Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem.
“I wouldn’t issue life insurance policies to any leader of a terrorist organization … I don’t want to give a full report here on what we are planning or what we are going to do,” the Israeli leader said.
Netanyahu has described Mojtaba Khamenei as a “puppet of the Revolutionary Guard”, referring to the elite force that was at the forefront of Tehran’s attacks.
He said on Thursday that the priest “cannot show his face in public”.
