US President Donald Trump recently vetoed an Israeli plan to assassinate Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, two US officials told Reuters on Sunday. “Have the Iranians killed an American citizen? No. Until that happens, there is no question of taking action against the political leadership,” said one of the sources, a senior US administration official. The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said top US officials have been in constant contact with their Israeli counterparts since the start of the Israeli strike, which is officially aimed at curbing Iran’s nuclear programme. The Israelis have indicated that they would have had the opportunity to assassinate Iran’s supreme leader, but Trump stopped the plan. The officials did not say whether the message was conveyed by Trump himself, but confirmed that Trump regularly consults with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
When asked about the Reuters reports on Sunday, Netanyahu responded: “There are so many false reports of conversations that never happened that I will not go into that.” He added: “But I can say that we are doing what we see as necessary and we will do what is necessary. And the United States knows what is good for the United States.”
There was another US diplomatic attempt on Sunday to ease tensions between the two countries, when Trump tweeted that he thought Israel and Iran could come to an agreement. However, statements from the leaders of the two countries show no sign of easing, on the contrary: they point to a serious escalation.
