Netanyahu Says Killing Iran’s Supreme Leader Would “End the Conflict”

Washington, D.C. – June 16, 2025
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared that assassinating Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, would bring a decisive end to the long-standing conflict between the two nations — a stance that reportedly contradicts direct appeals from former U.S. President Donald Trump.

In an interview aired Monday with ABC News correspondent Jonathan Karl, Netanyahu defended Israel’s right to act decisively against Tehran, stating, “It’s not going to escalate the conflict, it’s going to end the conflict,” and likening Khamenei to “a modern Hitler.”

When pressed on whether Israel was actively targeting Khamenei, Netanyahu responded, “We’re doing what we need to do,” while also accusing Iran of previously plotting assassination attempts against both him and Trump. “They actually had their proxy shoot a drone right into my bedroom window,” he claimed.

The Israeli leader’s comments come amid intensifying hostilities between the two nations. On Friday, Israel launched a wave of airstrikes targeting Iranian nuclear facilities, military leaders, and scientists, prompting daily retaliatory rocket fire from Iran.

Reports from Axios and Reuters on Sunday revealed that Trump had previously urged Netanyahu not to proceed with plans to assassinate the 86-year-old Iranian supreme leader, who has held power since 1989 following the death of revolutionary figure Ayatollah Khomeini.

While Netanyahu offered praise for Trump during the ABC interview, he dismissed the former president’s call for renewed diplomatic engagement. “They don’t want a seat at the table. They want to blow up the table,” he said. “I understand, ‘America First.’ I don’t understand America, dead.”

Trump, meanwhile, took to Truth Social on Sunday, expressing optimism: “Iran and Israel should make a deal, and will make a deal… we will have PEACE, soon, between Israel and Iran! Many calls and meetings now taking place.”

The sharp divergence in approaches underscores the growing complexity of international efforts to de-escalate one of the world’s most volatile rivalries.