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Will US back Israel's possible assassination of Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei? JD Vance gives big update
JD Vance asserted that US airstrikes have hindered Iran's nuclear ambitions, emphasising reliance on American intelligence.
US Vice President JD Vance stated that Washington's airstrikes on Iran have pushed back Tehran's nuclear program “many years,” adding that American intelligence judgments, not Israeli ones, were the driving force for the operation.
During his interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press”, Vance was asked if the US would back a possible Israeli assassination of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Responding to the question, the US VP said, it is “up to the Israelis” and restated the US stance that “we don't want a regime change.”
Following Israel's extensive bombing campaign against Iran last week, which was based on allegations that Tehran was on the verge of creating a nuclear weapon, tensions between Iran and Israel have significantly increased. Iran denied the charges and launched a barrage of missile and drone strikes in retaliation.
When Israel hinted at possibility of killing Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
Amid the escalating conflict, Israel hinted that it may target Khamenei. After an Iranian missile strike on an Israeli hospital on Thursday, Israel Katz, the country's defense minister, said that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's top leader, “can no longer be allowed to exist.”
While Israel's military activities are not intended to overthrow Iran's leadership, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated on Thursday that such an outcome may result from the prolonged confrontation, according to Reuters. "The matter of changing the regime or the fall of this regime is, first and foremost, a matter for the Iranian people. There is no substitute for this,” he continued.
JD Vance says US targetted Iranian nuclear sites after info from its own intel
Moving further, Vance stated on NBC's Meet the Press that he is “very confident” that the US has substantially delayed Iran's development of a nuclear weapon with its airstrikes on three facilities.
When asked if US President Donald Trump approved the operation based on US or Israeli intelligence evaluations of Iran's nuclear capability, Vance responded that “it was our intelligence” that influenced the decision.
“Of course we share intelligence with a lot of agencies, British, Israeli and so forth, but it was our intelligence that motivated us to act,” he stated.
