- By Shibra Arshad
- Wed, 04 Mar 2026 04:27 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Israel-Iran War: Trump’s and the US administration’s accounts of how the war with Iran started and how Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei was killed continue to contradict each other, as new statements from the US officials said Khamenei’s killing was an ‘Israeli operation’ while Trump had earlier claimed that ‘he got Iran’s Supreme Leader’. The Pentagon chief called the killing of Khamenei Israel’s target, as he appeared to be distancing himself from the February 28 operation.
The statement came during the testimony of the Pentagon chief before the Senate Armed Services Committee, where Elbridge Colby said America's focus was on protecting US troops in the region and degrading its missile, drone and naval capabilities. Colby further made it clear before the Senate that the killing of Khamenei or any other senior Iranian leader was not part of the American military campaign.
When Colby was questioned by the Senate whether regime change was the intention or part of Trump’s military operation in Iran, he replied, ‘Those are Israeli operations’. Pentagon Chief’s statement was in contradiction to that of Trump’s regarding the killing of Ayatollah Khamenei, as he had claimed to have ‘got him’.
‘Got Him Before He Got Me’: Trump About Khamenei
Earlier on Monday, Trump had claimed that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had tried to get him killed and that he got Khamenei before the latter could get him (killed), reported ABC News.
"President Trump told me this about the death of Ayatollah Khamenei: "I got him before he got me. They tried twice. Well I got him first." That's a reference to what US intelligence believes was a plot to kill Trump in 2024," Chief Washington Correspondent at ABC, Jonathan Karl wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
Trump had announced the killing of Khamenei on Truth Social, calling him the most evil person. Trump said Khamenei was "unable to avoid our Intelligence and Highly Sophisticated Tracking Systems and, working closely with Israel, there was not a thing he, or the other leaders that have been killed along with him, could do."
Israel-Iran War
The US and Israel launched a joint military attack against Tehran on Saturday under ‘Operation Epic Fury’, targeting key building including official and arsenal, claiming Iran had resumed nuclear activities. Hundreds of people have been killed in the war that entered its fifth day on Wednesday, the vast majority from Iran. The Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Khamenei, along with many of his family members and top Iranian leader were killed in a sudden military assault by the US and Israel, which came alongside the nuclear talks with Iran.
Iran launched retaliatory attacks on several Gulf countries, targeting the US assets and crude oil infrastructure, prompting a surge in oil prices across the globe.