• Source:JND
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Amid rising tensions between Iran and Israel after deadly attacks throughout the region, a top Israeli official has hinted Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei could be a direct target if war escalates. In a significant and provocative comment, the Israeli official said the possibility of assassinating Iran's leadership is "not off limits." This unprecedented warning comes as Israel's military campaign "Operation Rising Lion", intensifies with airstrikes aimed at dismantling Iran’s nuclear infrastructure and eliminating key figures in its military command.

Iran's Nuclear Threat Must Be Ended "At All Costs"

The official further stated that the war would end only on two possible outcomes, either Iran itself dismantles its nuclear program, or Israel makes it impossible for Tehran to reopen it. In a related development, Israel's Channel 12 also cited a senior political source as saying that removing Supreme Leader Khamenei "is not being ruled out" but would "depend on many factors." Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz made a similar strong threat that, "If Khamenei keeps launching missiles against the Israeli home front, Tehran will burn." These statements indicates Israel’s readiness to expand its military campaign beyond nuclear targets to potentially include the Iranian regime’s leadership. Recent airstrikes have already inflicted major damage on Iran's Natanz enrichment plant, one of its most heavily fortified nuclear facilities. Reports of structural collapses have been made, though the extent of damage is uncertain amidst increased information warfare from both sides.

The war has spread across Iranian borders. The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) conducted airstrikes on Saturday evening in Yemen against top Houthi military commander Muhammad Abd al-Karim al-Ghamari. The Jerusalem Post reports that the result of the attack is still being evaluated. "We will soon see if it worked," a senior Israeli official stated. The first strikes were said to have killed multiple top Iranian officials, including IRGC chief Hossein Salami, Armed Forces chief Mohammad Bagheri, and veteran diplomat‑general Ali Shamkhani, among others. The airstrikes also hit key nuclear and energy facilities in what Israel described as a preemptive strike to disable Tehran's nuclear weapons program.

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Israel launched Operation Rising Lion, Iran Retaliated

Operation Rising Lion was one of the most aggressive Israeli military actions in decades. In a statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the offensive a "targeted military operation to roll back the Iranian threat to Israel's very survival." In a pre dawn attack on Friday, Israel launched massive airstrikes deep inside Iranian territory, targeting key military and nuclear sites. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said they successfully hit targets associated with Iran's nuclear and military command, particularly its Natanz underground enrichment facility, as well as other military installations.

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On the other hand Iran responded by firing more than 200 ballistic missiles at Israeli targets in four simultaneous waves. Major targets struck included civilian infrastructures and the port city of Haifa. Sirens wailed throughout Israel as missile defense systems destroyed several projectiles. At least three were reported dead, said Israeli emergency services. Iranian state news reported heavy civilian losses after Israel's attacks, among them an airstrike on a residential complex in Tehran that resulted in the death of approximately 60 individuals, 20 of them children. Dozens of locations all over Iran have been targeted, with the government accusing Israel of indiscriminate acts of violence.