Israel decided months in advance to assassinate Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to Defence Minister Israel Katz, who said the plan was first approved in November during a high-level government meeting.

Katz told Israel’s N12 television that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu set the objective of eliminating Khamenei during a restricted security discussion late last year. The operation had initially been scheduled for mid-2026 but was later brought forward as tensions with Iran escalated.

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Khamenei was killed in the opening hours of the joint U.S.–Israeli air campaign launched last Saturday. The strike marked the first time a country’s top leader had been assassinated by an air attack, a move that dramatically intensified hostilities across the region.

Plan accelerated as tensions rose

According to Katz, Israel shared the plan with Washington after the decision was made. The timeline changed around January when protests erupted inside Iran and Israeli officials feared the country’s leadership might respond by launching attacks against Israeli or U.S. targets in the Middle East.

The military campaign has now entered its first week. Early strikes targeted senior Iranian political and military figures, triggering retaliatory missile and drone attacks from Tehran against Israel as well as American bases and allied states in the Gulf and Iraq.

Regional conflict widens

The conflict has also expanded beyond Iran and Israel. Israeli forces have carried out attacks against Hezbollah positions in Lebanon, raising concerns that the fighting could spread further across the region.

Israeli leaders say the military campaign is aimed at removing what they describe as an existential threat posed by Iran’s nuclear programme and its expanding ballistic missile arsenal. Officials have also suggested that regime change in Tehran is a possible outcome of the war.

So far, Iran’s clerical leadership has shown no indication it is willing to relinquish power despite mounting military pressure.

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  Adapted by ASEAN Now · Source · 05.03 2026

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If anyone still doubts that we’re being fed carefully managed narratives about this conflict, the last 24 hours should at least raise serious questions.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a television interview that Israel had approved a plan months ago to assassinate Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. According to Katz, the decision was taken during a restricted security meeting of Israel’s leadership last November, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu set the objective of eliminating Khamenei.

If accurate, this suggests the killing of a foreign head of state was not an improvised wartime decision but a pre-planned operation approved well in advance!

That raises an obvious question about the public narrative surrounding the conflict. For months the justification presented by the United States and Israel centred on Iran’s nuclear program and the claim of an “existential threat”. However, if the assassination of the Iranian leader had already been approved months earlier, it suggests that regime change may have been a central objective from the start.

Katz also indicated the timeline was accelerated earlier this year amid rising tensions and internal protests within Iran. That detail makes the strategy appear even more calculated.

Another key point is that Katz said the plan was shared with Washington. Given the US participation in the joint air campaign, it raises serious questions about how much they knew in advance and whether it effectively endorsed the strategy.

Assassinating the head of another state is an extraordinary escalation in international relations and risks setting a dangerous precedent. Regardless of where one stands politically, actions like this dramatically increase the chances of the conflict spreading across the region.

At the very least, people should be told what this war is actually about and how the decision to go this far was made.

Agree with that. Also don't forget, that just a few months ago trump already obliterated Iran's nuclear threat.

10 hours ago, Jim Waldron said:

If anyone still doubts that we’re being fed carefully managed narratives about this conflict, the last 24 hours should at least raise serious questions.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a television interview that Israel had approved a plan months ago to assassinate Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. According to Katz, the decision was taken during a restricted security meeting of Israel’s leadership last November, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu set the objective of eliminating Khamenei.

If accurate, this suggests the killing of a foreign head of state was not an improvised wartime decision but a pre-planned operation approved well in advance!

That raises an obvious question about the public narrative surrounding the conflict. For months the justification presented by the United States and Israel centred on Iran’s nuclear program and the claim of an “existential threat”. However, if the assassination of the Iranian leader had already been approved months earlier, it suggests that regime change may have been a central objective from the start.

Katz also indicated the timeline was accelerated earlier this year amid rising tensions and internal protests within Iran. That detail makes the strategy appear even more calculated.

Another key point is that Katz said the plan was shared with Washington. Given the US participation in the joint air campaign, it raises serious questions about how much they knew in advance and whether it effectively endorsed the strategy.

Assassinating the head of another state is an extraordinary escalation in international relations and risks setting a dangerous precedent. Regardless of where one stands politically, actions like this dramatically increase the chances of the conflict spreading across the region.

At the very least, people should be told what this war is actually about and how the decision to go this far was made.

Netanyahu has been egging the US on for over 30 years to do something about Iran's nuclear program, but until Trump he never had a president that would slavishly execute his agenda.

https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2025/6/18/the-history-of-netanyahus-rhetoric-on-irans-nuclear-ambitions

In 1996 a group of Washington neocons presented Netanyahu with a plan for deposing Saddam Hussein. This plan eventually became the plan implemented by George Bush, 2nd, in 2003. Each time the idea was to damage a country's politics and economy to the point that it could not oppose Israel's agenda in the Middle East: Jordan/Egypt 1967, Lebanon 1978. 1982-2000, 2006, 2023-6, Syria 1967, 2025, Iraq 2003.

Now in addition to regime change, Trump wants a say in the new leadership. There is talk of sending Iranian Kurd exile forces into the ethnic Kurdish areas of western Iran. What they might be able to do is create a (probably temporary) breakaway Kurdish state. That would be quite inpopular with the Turkish, Iraqi, and Syrian governments, and while it would promote instability in Iran and those other countries, it would not have the means to overturn the government in Teheran. But creating chaos and instability in the region is Netanyahu's game.

Trump sounds like an 1880 imperial era throwback. Trump has difficulty explaining his agenda in attacking Iran. It's because he can't keep up with Netanyahu's agenda, which is not being fully disclosed to Trump before it happens. Then Trump has to scramble to appear that what has happened was his own plan for X reason, that later appears inconsistent with the facts, so then we hear the Y reason, and on and on.

The point is how did they manage to draw in America in their war ? Did they blackmail with some fishy Epstein dug up story against the Donald ? As many are saying that Epstein could have been an Israel agent, with almost unlimited means and money that was used to trap western tycoons ?

The departed turban supreme planed the same no doubt🤔

12 hours ago, Jim Waldron said:

If anyone still doubts that we’re being fed carefully managed narratives about this conflict, the last 24 hours should at least raise serious questions.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a television interview that Israel had approved a plan months ago to assassinate Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. According to Katz, the decision was taken during a restricted security meeting of Israel’s leadership last November, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu set the objective of eliminating Khamenei.

If accurate, this suggests the killing of a foreign head of state was not an improvised wartime decision but a pre-planned operation approved well in advance!

That raises an obvious question about the public narrative surrounding the conflict. For months the justification presented by the United States and Israel centred on Iran’s nuclear program and the claim of an “existential threat”. However, if the assassination of the Iranian leader had already been approved months earlier, it suggests that regime change may have been a central objective from the start.

Katz also indicated the timeline was accelerated earlier this year amid rising tensions and internal protests within Iran. That detail makes the strategy appear even more calculated.

Another key point is that Katz said the plan was shared with Washington. Given the US participation in the joint air campaign, it raises serious questions about how much they knew in advance and whether it effectively endorsed the strategy.

Assassinating the head of another state is an extraordinary escalation in international relations and risks setting a dangerous precedent. Regardless of where one stands politically, actions like this dramatically increase the chances of the conflict spreading across the region.

At the very least, people should be told what this war is actually about and how the decision to go this far was made.

I agree. And they are arming the Kurds. There are about 200 000 Jewish Kurds living in Israel. Imagine how those Arabs countries feel about having those Kurds living in their countries when they might be working for the Israel's intel.

Quote:

Jews and Kurds share a complex and historically significant relationship rooted in centuries of coexistence, cultural exchange, and mutual solidarity, despite being distinct ethnic and religious groups.

Historical Coexistence and Cultural Ties

Kurdistani Jews lived in the Kurdistan region—primarily in northern Iraq—for nearly 3,000 years, maintaining a distinct identity as Mizrahi Jews while integrating aspects of Kurdish culture, including language (Neo-Aramaic and Kurdish) and traditions.

They lived in relative harmony with their Kurdish neighbors, often protected by Kurdish tribes, and developed unique cultural practices such as the Seharane festival and Kurdiyada, which continue in Israel today.

Genetic studies confirm a close relationship between Jews and Kurds, with research showing that Jewish populations are more genetically similar to Kurds than to Arab populations, suggesting shared ancient ancestry in the Near East.

Strategic Alliance and Modern Relations

Since 1948, Israel and the Kurds have developed a strategic alliance based on shared experiences of persecution, statelessness, and regional marginalization.

Israel supported the Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga during conflicts with Baghdad, trained Kurdish fighters, and helped establish Kurdish intelligence services.

In 2017, Israel became the only country to publicly endorse the Kurdish independence referendum, symbolizing deep solidarity.

Kurdish Jews now number around 200,000 in Israel, where they maintain cultural institutions, including the National Association of Jews from Kurdistan, Kurdish Studies Program at Tel Aviv University, and festivals celebrating their heritage.

Contemporary Challenges and Tensions

Despite strong cultural and historical bonds, political ties are constrained by regional powers: Iraq criminalized contact with Israel in 2022, Iran frames Kurdish-Israeli ties as a Zionist conspiracy, and Turkey views the relationship as a "Second Israel" plot.

In 2024, Iran launched missile attacks on Erbil, falsely claiming to target an Israeli "spy headquarters," highlighting the geopolitical risks.

Honestly, I'd like to see Israel Kurdled. It'd serve them right.

Israel has never been known for diplomacy. Shoot first, questions later.