Trump vetoed Israel plan to kill Khamenei, claim US officials
US President Donald Trump vetoed an Israeli plan in recent days to kill Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, two US officials told Reuters on Sunday, even as Israel unleashed airstrikes across Iran for a third day while some Iranian missiles evaded Israeli air defences to strike buildings in the heart of the country.Planned talks on Iran’s nuclear programme, which could provide an off-ramp, were cancelled.The stunning claim came on a day when Trump first issued a stark warning to Iran against retaliating on US targets in West Asia, then later predicted Israel and Iran would “soon” make a deal to end their escalating conflict.Trump said he has a track record for de-escalating conflicts, and that he would get Israel and Iran to cease hostilities “just like I got India and Pakistan to make peace” after the two countries’ recent conflict.Meanwhile, a US official was quoted by Reuters as saying, “Have the Iranians killed an American yet? No. Until they do, we’re not even talking about going after the political leadership.” Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday strongly suggested that the country has killed Iran’s intelligence chief Mohammad Kazemi in an aerial attack.
