Trump Opposes Israeli Plot to Assassinate Khamenei as Netanyahu Alleges Iranian Threat to Former US President
Two significant developments from the United States have thrust the Iran-Israel-US triangle into renewed geopolitical tension. The first involves a dramatic claim from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who accused Iran of plotting to assassinate former US President Donald Trump. The second revelation is that Trump, during a private conversation, allegedly rejected an Israeli proposal to eliminate Iran&rsquo;s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
In remarks attributed to the Israeli leader during a weekend interview, Netanyahu asserted that Tehran had identified Trump as the foremost obstacle to its nuclear ambitions. He said the former US President was viewed by Iran as &ldquo;enemy number one,&rdquo; citing Trump&rsquo;s aggressive dismantling of the 2015 nuclear deal and his decision to eliminate Qasem Soleimani as key reasons for Tehran&rsquo;s animosity.
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Netanyahu, who has long positioned himself as an uncompromising adversary of the Iranian regime, went further by suggesting that he too had been directly targeted. A missile, he claimed, had struck the bedroom of his private residence, a move he interpreted as an assassination attempt ordered by Tehran. He described himself as Trump&rsquo;s &ldquo;junior partner&rdquo; in challenging Iran&rsquo;s nuclear programme and called the threat against both leaders a symptom of Iran's desperation as international pressure mounted.
In parallel, US officials have revealed that President Trump dismissed a proposal from the Israeli leadership to authorise a strike on Iran&rsquo;s Supreme Leader. The suggestion came during a sensitive window of heightened military activity, shortly after Israeli forces launched a major aerial operation against Iranian targets. Trump reportedly conveyed to Netanyahu that such an operation was ill-advised and risked spiralling into a wider regional conflict.
Netanyahu defended Israel's recent military posture, describing it as a necessary response to an &ldquo;imminent dual existential threat&rdquo; posed by Iran. He claimed that Tehran had accelerated its uranium enrichment efforts with the intent to construct nuclear weapons and was simultaneously ramping up its ballistic missile production capacity. According to the Israeli Prime Minister, intelligence assessments indicated that Iran was on track to produce thousands of high-velocity missiles annually &mdash; a scenario he portrayed as unsustainable for a nation the size of Israel.
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Framing the situation as a strategic last resort, Netanyahu justified the military strikes as a pre-emptive measure to neutralise the threat before it became irreversible. &ldquo;We had to act,&rdquo; he said, referencing both the nuclear trajectory and missile stockpiling in Iran. He warned that inaction would have left Israel vulnerable to a scale of assault that no sovereign nation could endure.
As these revelations circulate, they further complicate the already volatile dynamics between Israel, Iran, and the United States, injecting a fresh round of urgency into diplomatic and security conversations across the region.
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ALSO READ:https://www.benefitnews24.com/international/trump-warns-iran-us-will-strike-with-full-force-if-attacked/13840

US President Trump and Iran's Supreme leader Khamenei (image source social media)

Netanyahu alleges Iran plotted to assassinate Trump over nuclear deal, Soleimani killing

Trump Opposed Israeli Plot to Kill Iran's Khamenei

Netanyahu alleges Iran plotted to assassinate Trump over nuclear deal, Soleimani killing

June 16, 2025 | 08:22 IST