A bombshell by Reuters, citing two senior U.S. officials says that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought to carry out an assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei—but was stopped by then-President Donald Trump, who vetoed the plan.

According to the report, Israel’s proposed strike on Khamenei was part of a larger military operation aimed at crippling Iran’s nuclear and military infrastructure. The assassination plot was reportedly deemed “credible” by American intelligence. However, Trump shut it down.

“Have the Iranians killed an American yet? No? Then we’re not even talking about going after their political leadership,” Trump is said to have told top advisers, according to senior U.S. officials familiar with the matter.

Sources say Prime Minister Netanyahu pushed hard for approval, seeing the elimination of Khamenei as a decisive move against Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Though he has not publicly confirmed the report, Netanyahu appeared to reference it during a recent Fox News interview, saying, “We do what we need to do,” while warning that regime change in Iran “could certainly be the result” of Israel’s ongoing campaign.

His office later denied the specific claim about targeting Khamenei, calling it “fake news.” But the broader military operation—reportedly named Operation Rising Lion—continues to unfold.

Since June 13, Israel has launched dozens of strikes deep into Iranian territory, targeting command centers, air defense systems, and nuclear facilities. These strikes have killed several senior Iranian military officials and top nuclear scientists. Iran responded with a massive barrage of missiles aimed at Israeli cities, killing civilians and injuring hundreds. The situation remains extremely volatile, with fears mounting that the conflict could engulf the wider region.

The decision by Trump to block the assassination marked a rare point of disagreement between Trump and Netanyahu, two leaders who were closely aligned on many fronts during Trump’s presidency. Trump, according to aides, believed killing Khamenei would trigger an uncontrollable regional war—especially if no Americans had yet been killed in the conflict. His focus, they said, was on protecting U.S. personnel and avoiding direct confrontation unless absolutely necessary.

Nonetheless, Trump has made clear that if Iran targets Americans, his administration would respond with overwhelming force.

While Israel appears determined to degrade Iran’s capabilities, the United States—at least under Trump—sought to maintain strategic restraint, drawing a red line at political assassinations unless American lives were lost. Whether that approach holds amid an increasingly chaotic battlefield remains to be seen. For now, Netanyahu’s government continues to signal that all options remain on the table—and that the Islamic Republic’s leadership may still be in its crosshairs.