NYT News ServiceFILE — Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in Tehran, June 28, 2024. As the conflict between Israel and Iran has intensified, one central character has remained out of the public eye: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s reclusive supreme leader. (Arash Khamooshi/The New York Times)
Israel wanted Ayatollah Ali Khamenei dead. Defence Minister Israel Katz left little doubt when he spoke on national television after the guns fell silent. “I estimate that if Khamenei had been in our sights, we would have taken him out,” Katz told Kan TV. He said Iran’s Supreme Leader “understood this, went very deep underground and broke off contacts with the commanders… so in the end it wasn’t realistic.”Katz repeated the message to Channel 13: “We searched a lot.” His admission marks Israel’s first clear statement that removing Iran’s highest cleric was an active goal during the war. The aim was not regime change, he insisted, but to fracture Tehran’s chain of command while bombs fell.The ‘Red Wedding’ beginsThe Israeli Air Force called its opening assault ‘Red Wedding’ — a nod to the infamous massacre in Game of Thrones where trusted leaders were cut down at a wedding feast.On 13 June, more than 200 Israeli warplanes pounded 100 targets across Iran. According to the Wall Street Journal, this single strike killed nine top nuclear scientists before dawn. Among the dead were General Hossein Salami of the Revolutionary Guard, General Mohammad Bagheri, Iran’s Chief of Staff, and Gholam Ali Rashid, the emergency commander.A giant billboard in Tehran now bears their faces — reminders of how one night turned Iran’s leadership upside down.Live EventsInside the plot: Trickery and timingThe strikes were planned for months. Israeli spies smuggled drone parts into Iran in shipping containers and trucks. Mossad teams hid explosive quadcopters near key missile sites and air defences.Training missions in Greek skies, and real-life raids on Houthi targets in Yemen, sharpened the Israeli Air Force’s long-range skills. All that practice came together on one carefully chosen night.According to Daily MailOnline, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu even faked his son Avner’s wedding to mislead Iranian watchers. He leaked a false feud with President Trump to suggest hesitation in Washington. In truth, Netanyahu had signed off on the airstrikes on 9 June.Israel’s gamble nearly fell apart when word leaked to Tehran. But Iranian commanders, instead of scattering, gathered for what they thought was a crisis meeting. That sealed their fate.“Rather than scattering, they gathered — sealing their fate,” wrote the Wall Street Journal, quoting Israeli officers.Trump’s bunker-bustersWhile Israel’s jets roared over Tehran, US President Trump made his own threats public. On 17 June, he wrote on Truth Social, “We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding… We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now.”Yet behind the scenes, the US was preparing its own blow.On the same night as Israel’s attacks, Trump ordered Operation Midnight Hammer — precision strikes with B-2 bombers and Tomahawk missiles targeting three major Iranian nuclear sites. The aim was to crack open deep-buried bunkers Iran had built over decades.White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed, “It was a total success… Not only does our own intelligence say that, but even the Iranian foreign minister and the United Nations agreed.”Trump later signalled that back-channel talks could follow. “Do the deal,” he posted online. The White House said negotiations for a “non-enrichment civil nuclear programme” might start soon with help from Qatar.A leaked US report, however, suggests some uranium might have been moved beforehand. Trump brushed that off: “Nothing was taken out… too dangerous, and very heavy and hard to move!” he said in an online post.Khamenei’s defiant reappearanceIran’s Supreme Leader vanished just as the missiles struck. The Associated Press reported he did not appear in public for days. He re-emerged only when the ceasefire was sealed on 25 June, posting a recorded video on Iranian state TV.“The Islamic Republic emerged victorious and delivered a harsh slap to America’s face,” Khamenei declared. On his official X account, he called Israel a “fallacious Zionist regime” that was “crushed under the blows of the Islamic Republic.”He boasted Iran’s retaliatory missile strike on the US base at Al-Udeid in Qatar “delivered a heavy slap to the US’s face.” But images of smoking bunkers and flattened research sites told another story.Israel’s warning after the guns fell silentKatz confirmed the hunt for Khamenei has ended for now. Speaking to Channel 13, he said: “There’s a difference — before the ceasefire, after the ceasefire.”He advised Iran’s top cleric to stay underground. “I wouldn’t recommend that he stay tranquil. He should learn from the late Nasrallah, who sat for a long time deep in the bunker. I recommend that he do the same thing.”Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s leader, was killed in an Israeli strike last year — another sign Israel’s assassinations reach beyond its borders.Katz also admitted Israel still does not know where all of Iran’s enriched uranium is hidden. But he insisted the attacks had set back Tehran’s nuclear ambitions “by long years.”No regime change, yet talks aheadTrump’s message has shifted too. Despite the bunker-busters, he insists a deal is possible. The White House says talks may soon restart, with Qatar acting as mediator.Leavitt said, “The US remains focused on diplomacy and peace.” But Iranian officials deny any plan to return to the table for now.Hamidreza Azizi from the German Institute for International and Security Affairs summed up Tehran’s problem: “There must be some sort of purge. But who will implement it? That is the question.”Twelve days of air raids ended with bombed-out bunkers and dead generals, but no regime collapse. Israel’s gamble exposed Iran’s weak air defences and the depth of its infiltration. For Tel Aviv, the message is clear: they can strike again if needed — with or without permission.As Katz told Channel 13, “We don’t need permission for these things.”The Red Wedding may be over, but its aftershocks are only beginning.(You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)
Read More News onIsrael’s Defence Minister Israel Katzred weddingwhite housekhameneitrumpwall street journalunited nationskatzrevolutionary guardmossad
(Catch all the Business News, Breaking News, Budget 2025 Events and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.) Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the ET ePaper online….moreless
(You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)Read More News onIsrael’s Defence Minister Israel Katzred weddingwhite housekhameneitrumpwall street journalunited nationskatzrevolutionary guardmossad(Catch all the Business News, Breaking News, Budget 2025 Events and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.) Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the ET ePaper online….moreless
Explore More Stories123