Israel Iran War: Is Khamenei at Risk ? Donald Trump in Dilemma on Direct Involvement as Russia Cautions US

Israel Iran War: Israel's military campaign against Iran has gotten a lot worse. It is now going after nuclear sites, military bases, and maybe even Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei himself. After Iran attacked Soroka Hospital with missiles and hurt about 40 people, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in Holon on June 19 that "Khamenei can no longer exist."

In an interview with ABC News, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said again that getting rid of Khamenei would end the conflict, not make it worse. He said that Iran's nuclear scientists were like "Hitler's nuclear team." Israeli officials have said from the start that they have not ruled out the option, saying that such action is "not off limits" while air battles are still going on.

Attacks by the military and revenge

Israel's "Operation Rising Lion" has been going on since June 13 and has hit Iran's Arak heavy-water reactor, the Natanz nuclear site, and important military and nuclear leaders such as IRGC head Hossein Salami, General Mohammad Bagheri, and advisor Ali Shamkhani. Iran's government says that Israel's attacks have killed at least 657 people and hurt more than 2,000. As a reaction, Iran has fired hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel, hurting more than 240 civilians in homes and hospitals.

The United States' role: a veto and a wait

Reuters and the AP say that former President Donald Trump blocked an Israeli plan to kill Khamenei because he was afraid it would lead to a bigger conflict. Later, Trump said, "At least for now, there are no plans to kill Khamenei," but he did say that something could happen in "the next two weeks." A top U.S. source said, "We're not even going to talk about going after the political leadership until they kill an American."

Effects on the region and the world

Both the Kremlin and Xi Jinping, the leader of China, said that going after Iran's leaders would have bad results and put the stability of the area at risk. It was made clear by Russia that direct U.S. involvement would be a "grave error," and they called for political remedies instead of military ones. At the same time, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz openly backed Israel's campaign, calling it "dirty work" that had to be done around the world to stop Iran from getting nuclear weapons.

Diplomacy vs. Getting worse

Despite the military buildup, Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, is scheduled to meet with European leaders from Britain, France, Germany, and the EU's top official in Geneva to talk about ways to calm things down. Reports say that Tehran is sending a message that it is willing to talk through Arab mediators. At the same time, Iran is still cutting off all contacts, and protests are going on inside the country, with some people chanting "Death to Khamenei."