Iranian spy chief accuses US and Israel of plotting to assassinate Khamenei – media

Foreign adversaries are targeting the Islamic Republic’s supreme leader, Tehran’s intelligence boss has reportedly alleged

Iran’s intelligence chief has accused the US and Israel of plotting to kill Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in an effort to destabilize the country, the ISNA news agency has reported. 

According to the outlet, Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib said on Saturday that “the enemy seeks to target the supreme leader, sometimes with assassination attempts, sometimes with hostile attacks,” referring to the US and Israel.

It was unclear whether the minister was alluding to a specific plot. Public claims of threats to Khamenei’s life had been rare before the 12-day war between Israel and Iran in June. Israeli strikes killed several senior Iranian commanders and nuclear scientists before a US-brokered ceasefire on June 24. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered the attacks to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons, a campaign backed by Washington, which joined Israeli raids on Iranian nuclear facilities on June 22. Tehran, which denies seeking a nuclear weapon, condemned the strikes as unprovoked.

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Khatib reportedly warned that “those who act in this direction, knowingly or unknowingly, are the infiltrating agents of the enemy.”

He added that Israel was grappling with “an epidemic of infiltration and espionage for Iran within its own institutions,” citing the recent arrest of an Israeli Air Force officer accused of spying for Tehran. Khatib reportedly claimed that Iran had obtained secret nuclear information and other highly sensitive security documents.

According to Khatib, the intelligence breach, coupled with what he described as Iran’s firm posture during the 12-day war, pointed to shifting regional power dynamics.

Earlier this year, Netanyahu brushed off reports that US President Donald Trump had vetoed an Israeli plan to kill Iran’s supreme leader during the war, while adding that such a strike would “end the conflict.”

Trump had claimed Khamenei was a “very easy target” and that Washington would not “take him out, at least not for now,” later declaring on Truth Social that he had spared the Iranian leader from “A VERY UGLY AND IGNOMINIOUS DEATH.”

Khamenei, 86, has been Iran’s supreme leader since 1989 and has final authority over all state affairs.