The Hebrew newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth highlighted on Tuesday the new Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, stating that “judging Mojtaba is like judging his father,” while raising the question: “Have Tel Aviv and Washington placed the new leader on the assassination list?”
In an article written by former head of Israel’s National Security Council Tzachi Hanegbi, the newspaper claimed that the decision to assassinate Ali Khamenei did not face global criticism. It alleged that during his 37 years ruling Iran with an iron grip, he had provided countless reasons that justified, in their view, the need to put an end to what they described as his “bloody leadership.”
Hanegbi continued: “Now a new leader has been chosen, the son of the late Khamenei. Should it therefore be expected that Iran’s new Supreme Leader will also be placed on the Israeli and American target list?”
He added that the decision to eliminate Ali Khamenei reflects what he described as a principled strategic position, rather than merely a bold exploitation of a unique operational opportunity. According to him, this leads to the conclusion that the fate of anyone who replaces Khamenei should not differ from that of his predecessor.
The former Israeli security official further claimed that the assassination of leaders of organisations has become a central and accepted tool in the global campaign against what he called “terrorism.” He pointed to examples such as U.S. President Barack Obama ordering the killing of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, and U.S. President Donald Trump sending special forces commandos to carry out a raid in Syria that resulted in the death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi.
He also referred to assassination operations carried out by Tel Aviv against prominent Palestinian figures in the movements of Fatah, the Popular Front, Hamas, and Islamic Jihad, in addition to assassinations targeting senior leaders of Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Returning to Iran, Hanegbi asked: “Is there a difference between eliminating Ali Khamenei and eliminating his successor?” He added: “In my opinion there is no difference, since for many years the Iranian Supreme Leader defined the ultimate goal of his regime as the disappearance of Israel by 2040 at the latest.”
He concluded by saying: “For an Iranian leader whose destiny is our destruction, the title of head of state will not grant him a safe haven. Iran under its current leadership has sworn to kill us indiscriminately, and its leaders have one duty: to follow the path of those who laid out the vision of destroying Israel,” according to his remarks.
