Israel’s leadership secretly discussed assassinating Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei during the opening days of June’s war with Iran, leaked cabinet transcripts aired Sunday by Channel 13 revealed.
On June 14, one day after Israel's surprise attacks, a small meeting of security cabinet ministers heard Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu say that war goals included eliminating Khamenei.
Others included striking the Fordow nuclear facility, to set fuel depots in Tehran on fire, and work toward killing officials who had replaced assassinated officials targeted in the overnight attacks sparking the 12-day war.
The goal to target the supreme leader was echoed among Netanyahu's government, with controversial right-wing Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich telling ministers that Israel must “keep searching for the leader".
At the end of June, Israel Katz, Israel's defense minister, told Hebrew media that the military had hoped to assassinate Iran’s supreme leader.
“If he had been in our sights, we would have taken him out,” he told Channel 13, adding that Israel “searched a lot” for Khamenei but that the operational opportunity did not appear during the bloody conflict that saw over 1,100 Iranians killed and thousands more injured.
The transcripts, set to be broadcast in full Tuesday with an accompanying Netanyahu interview, also detail Israeli hopes that US President Donald Trump would order strikes on Iran’s fortified Fordow nuclear facility, which was indeed later bombed by the US along with Natanz and Isfahan.
‘A historic moment’
According to the newly revealed information, on the eve of the war, Netanyahu argued Iran was “getting close to being the second-biggest powerhouse on ballistic missiles” and said Israel’s opening attack on June 13 could reshape later negotiations.
At the June 12 bunker meeting, he said that Iran already had enough enriched material for “eight to nine bombs” and was advancing on weaponization. “If we don’t act, we simply won’t be here,” he said.
The plan called for destroying the Natanz nuclear facility, targeting nuclear scientists, and striking conversion sites that could turn enriched uranium into bomb cores.
IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir praised the opening strikes on June 13 as “extraordinary achievements” and said Iran had responded with fewer missile launches than expected.
US support critical to target Fordow
Transcripts reveal an unnamed official cautioning that Fordow could be destroyed “only if the US attacks it,” given the site’s depth under mountainous terrain requiring the specialist bunker-busting bombers that only the US had.
During a call with US President Donald Trump, Netanyahu “pushed and maneuvered” for American refueling planes to support Israeli attacks and a potential strike on Fordow, the transcripts reveal.
Katz said US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told him refueling support was being prepared.
The transcripts also show Netanyahu's right-wing ministers pressing for tougher action on Iran. Katz argued for targeting Iran’s state broadcaster and secret police, while Shas party leader Aryeh Deri urged killing officers replacing those already struck.
Iran eventually fired over 500 ballistic missiles and 1,100 drones, killing 31 in Israel and wounding more than 3,000. More than 13,000 Israelis were displaced after homes, universities and a hospital were struck.
Channel 13 said its full feature Tuesday will include further transcripts, including pressure on Trump to bomb Fordow and information about Iran’s strike on Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba.
“Enemies of Iran should know that our nuclear industry has deep roots and cannot be eliminated through military action,” Eslami said in his address to the 69th General Conference.
He added that “Iran will not yield to political or military pressure and will not give up its inherent rights.”
The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran said Tehran’s cooperation with the IAEA “has been broad and consistent,” but accused the agency of failing to condemn what he called aggressive acts against Iranian nuclear sites.
“Despite our formal request, the agency did not condemn the attacks by the United States and Israel on the nuclear centers of the Islamic Republic,” he said. “This silence and inaction will remain as a stain on the Agency’s history.”
Eslami also criticized European efforts to trigger the “snapback” mechanism to restore UN sanctions on Iran, calling them illegal.
He said the 2015 nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), had shown diplomacy could succeed, but argued that Western states had undermined it.
“Today, on the anniversary of the JCPOA, we see unlawful attempts to activate the snapback mechanism,” he said. “These efforts are a mockery of Resolution 2231.”
Eslami also said Israel’s attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities had targeted not only infrastructure but also diplomacy itself. “The Zionist regime’s goal is not merely to destroy our nuclear centers but to derail the path of diplomacy and peace,” he said.
Eslami also Iran would table a resolution at the conference to ban attacks on nuclear facilities and would hold meetings with states cooperating with Tehran.
The comments come as Iran’s Supreme National Security Council has laid out conditions for future IAEA inspections under a new arrangement signed in Cairo last week by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi.
The council said any inspection of damaged facilities would require its approval, and warned that implementation would stop if hostile actions, including reinstated UN resolutions, were taken against Iran.
Britain, France and Germany triggered the snapback process on August 28, demanding Iran return to talks and account for missing uranium stockpiles. Unless the Security Council blocks the move, sanctions will automatically resume by late September.
The IAEA reported earlier this month that Iran’s 60% enriched uranium stockpile rose to 440.9 kilograms before the June strikes on its facilities. Grossi said the Cairo deal aims to re-establish monitoring once technical procedures are agreed.
“Caught between drought and choking dust storms, Iran’s Sistan-Baluchestan province faces an escalating environmental crisis as the Hamoun wetlands dry up and 120-day winds turn into walls of sand,” Tasnim news agency reported on Monday.
Experts warn more than 85% of Hamoun has vanished, driving mass farmland loss, biodiversity collapse, and waves of forced migration.
Studies say 65% of croplands around the wetland are already barren, while dust storms now last over 200 days a year, cutting visibility to a few hundred meters and worsening respiratory illness.
Officials blame water shortages from Afghanistan’s dams on the Helmand River, which deprive Hamoun of its lifeline. Local researchers say completion of the Bakhshabad dam could “deal the final blow” to the wetland.
With little hope of receiving the agreed water rights from Kabul, Iranian specialists are pushing homegrown fixes.
Despite pilot projects and pledges, locals complain of empty promises. “They say they will revive Hamoun, but nothing happens -- every day it dries more,” a resident told Tasnim.
Environmentalists warn time is running out: without immediate action, the region risks irreversible collapse, with fallout for Iran and its neighbors.
“Unfortunately some at home prescribe fake remedies. They say: ‘do not chant death to America, stop enrichment, halt missiles, and the problem will be solved," said Mehdi Fazaeli.
"These prescriptions, especially at this time and after past experiences, are not only very simplistic but even foolish,” he added in an interview with the Gurads-linked Fars News Agency on Saturday night.
His remarks came after a coalition of 27 reformist organizations urged the Islamic Republic to signal readiness to suspend enrichment and allow full International Atomic Energy Agency monitoring in exchange for lifting sanctions.
In their words, “Iran’s social fabric was deeply wounded, with public life overshadowed by despair and anxiety.” The group said such a step could lead to “comprehensive, direct negotiations with the United States and normalization of relations.”
Khamenei ruled out direct talks with Washington in late August. “Those who say, ‘Don’t chant slogans against America, they’ll get upset and become hostile toward you,’ are superficial. Those who argue, ‘Why don’t you negotiate directly with the United States and solve your problems?’ are, in my view, also superficial. That’s not the reality of the matter; this issue cannot be resolved,” he said at the time.
'No pressure on Khamenei'
Fazaeli dismissed remarks that decisions had been forced on Khamenei, saying those who describe the leadership as passive or subject to misleading reports were either ignorant or acting with ulterior motives.
“At present, the leadership itself is the most important element and pillar of the country’s power,” he added, describing Khamenei’s approach as “revolutionary rationality, a balance of realism and ideals.”
The remarks followed weeks of conservative criticism of President Masoud Pezeshkian’s moderate government, accusing it of showing weakness toward Israel and of pushing Khamenei into agreeing to ceasefire arrangements.
Earlier in July, armed forces chief Abdolrahim Mousavi said a devastating strike on Israel had been prepared on Khamenei’s orders but was shelved when a truce took effect.
The debate sharpened after Israeli and US strikes in June on sensitive nuclear facilities, prompting Tehran to negotiate a limited arrangement with the IAEA to restore inspector access.
Known as the Cairo agreement, it was signed by Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Egypt while parliament was in recess, despite a law requiring suspension of cooperation with the agency.
Araghchi insists the Cairo accord safeguards Iran’s interests and is consistent with the law suspending cooperation. He said it recognizes Tehran’s security concerns, guarantees Iran’s rights, and “creates no access” for inspectors at this stage.
Any monitoring, he said, would only be discussed later with approval from the Supreme National Security Council.
While hardliners accuse the government of forcing concessions on the leader, Fazaeli’s remarks made clear that decisions—whether concessions or escalations—rest with Khamenei himself.
