Israel denies Trump vetoed its plan to kill Khamenei - Channel 12

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that Israel killed Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) intelligence chief Mohammad Kazemi and his deputy Hassan Mohaqeq in a strike in Tehran.

“We decided to act because we had to. We saw enough enriched uranium for nine bombs. We are attacking their nuclear sites. We attacked their senior command, and I can update that just moments ago we also eliminated their intelligence chief and his deputy in Tehran,” Netanyahu said in an interview with Fox News.

Earlier, Iran International reported that Kazemi and Mohaqeq were trapped under rubble following an Israeli strike on the IRGC intelligence organization’s building in Tehran.

US President Donald Trump vetoed an Israeli plan to assassinate Iran’s Supreme Leader in recent days, Reuters reported citing two unnamed US officials.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declined to comment on the Reuters report. "I'm not going to get into that," Netanyahu told Fox News.

Axios quoted a US official as saying the Israelis had an opportunity to kill Khamenei, but the US told them Trump was opposed to that.

"The Iranians haven't killed an American, and discussion of killing political leaders should not be on the table," the US official was quoted as saying.

Mohammad Kazemi, the head of the IRGC Intelligence Organization, and his deputy, Hassan Mohaqqeq, were trapped under the rubble following the Israeli strike on the Organization's building in Tehran, and their condition is currently unknown, Iran International has learned.

The strike caused extensive damage to the building, and search and rescue operations are still underway.

Russia’s investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev said Moscow can play “a key role” in mediating the conflict between Israel and Iran, in a post on X on Sunday.

Dmitriev’s comment came in response to a post by US President Donald Trump, who said he had spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin about the conflict.

President Donald Trump says the United States could become involved in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran, though it is not currently participating.

“It’s possible we could get involved,” Trump told ABC News, adding that the US is “not at this moment involved” in the fighting.

Trump also said he would be open to Russian President Vladimir Putin serving as a mediator in the conflict. “He is ready. He called me about it. We had a long talk about it,” Trump said.