Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Thursday issued a chilling warning, declaring that “no one is immune” from Israeli retaliation — strongly hinting that even Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei could be a potential target.
He made the comments in response to a question during a tour of Soroka Medical Centre in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba, which came under Iranian missile attacks Thursday morning.
“I gave instructions that no one is immune,” he said. “I prefer not to deal with headlines and to let actions speak for themselves,” he added.
“During a war, words have to be chosen with care, and actions with precision,” Netanyahu said, adding, “All the options are open. It’s best not to speak about this in the press”.
The prime minister reiterated that Israel’s operation in Iran was against its nuclear programme and missile stockpile to save his country, unlike “theirs that targets innocent civilians”.
“They fire at hospitals where people are unable to escape danger,” Netanyahu said.
“This is the difference between a functioning democracy that adheres to the law and these murderers,” he said.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz earlier publicly threatened Khamenei.
“Preventing the existence of Khamenei, the modern Hitler – is one of the goals of the operation,” Katz said during a tour of an impacted site in the city of Holon.
“A dictator like Khamenei, who leads Iran and has inscribed the destruction of Israel on his flag – he cannot continue to exist,” the defence minister said, adding that Iran’s spiritual leader “has great ideological influence, he uses all his resources for the cause, and today we see proof that he is giving orders to shoot at hospitals”.
On the US call regarding its direct participation in the Israeli operation to foil Iran’s nuclear programme, Netanyahu said that it “is a decision for President Donald Trump to make”.
“He will do what is good for America, and I will do what’s good for Israel,” the Israeli prime minister said, adding that the US president “knows the game”.
Stressing that Israel will carry out the entire mission by itself, if needed, he said, “At the end of this operation, there will be no nuclear threat on Israel, and there won’t be a ballistic threat.”
There has been speculation that Trump will decide to join Israel’s offensive against Iran.
Altogether, 147 people are said to have been brought to various hospitals across the country after Iran launched a fresh barrage of ballistic missiles impacting places like Ramat Gan, Holon and Beersheba.
Iran has fired over four hundred ballistic missiles and more than a thousand drones over Israel since the Jewish state launched Operation Rising Lion Friday, with the twin goals of eliminating the nuclear and missile threat from the Islamic Republic.
Meanwhile, due to the ongoing conflict, wartime restrictions on the reporting of the events have been imposed.
The restrictions included news related to operations, targets for attack, specific operations for protection and security, damage to strategic facilities and military bases, and damage to operational capabilities and/or the capability to provide essential services.
PTI
