Trump says US knows where Khamenei is but ‘won’t kill him now’

Netanyahu said he doesn’t see assassinating Khamenei as an action that would escalate hostilities.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

US President Donald Trump took to social media to declare that the US knows where Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is but “won’t kill him now.” 

He wrote on Truth Social, “We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding. He is an easy target but is safe there — We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now.”

“But we don’t want missiles shot at civilians or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin,“ he added.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview with ABC on Friday that he doesn’t see assassinating Khamenei as an action that would escalate hostilities. “It’s not going to escalate the conflict; it’s going to end the conflict.”

He explained, “We’ve had half a century of conflict spread by this regime that terrorizes everyone in the Middle East, has bombed the Aramco oil fields in Saudi Arabia, [and] is spreading terrorism and subversion and sabotage everywhere.”

When asked if Israel planned to kill Khamenei, Netanyahu merely replied that the Jewish state was “doing what we need to do.”

According to claims by several American officials, Trump vetoed plans by Israel to assassinate the supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

“Have the Iranians killed an American yet? No. Until they do we’re not even talking about going after the political leadership,“ a senior Trump administration official told Reuters.

However, Trump’s rhetoric has been increasingly hawkish recently, and on Tuesday morning, he urged all residents of Tehran to evacuate, insisting that Iran should have agreed to a nuclear deal to avoid the current conflict. 

The president instructed the National Security Council to prepare for an emergency meeting ahead of a possible American entry into the war between Israel and Iran.

He also chastised fellow Republican and online influencer Tucker Carlson for his isolationist views. 

After an interview in which Carlson criticized supporters of Israel as “warmongers,“ Trump posted, “Someone please explain to kooky Tucker Carlson that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.”