Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his inner circle he planned to assassinate Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei four months ago, according to Israel Katz, the Israeli minister of defense. 

Khamenei, 86, was killed in the opening hours of the U.S.- and Israeli-led military action against Iran starting Feb. 28. He had been Iran’s supreme leader since 1989.

Katz, speaking to Isreal’s Channel 12, said that in November 2025, Netanyahu discussed the possibility of an assassination attempt on Khamenei with “a select group of officials.” Most officials agreed, Katz said, according to The Times of Israel, and the original plan was scheduled to take place in mid-2026, possibly in June. 

The minister said Netanyahu did not immediately share the plans with Washington, as Jerusalem was operating “under the assumption that we might have to carry it [the assassination] out on our own.”

Katz said that changed when discussions about Iran between Netanyahu and President Donald Trump began in December, after anti-government protests erupted in Iran, pushing the country into chaos and sparking a crackdown that resulted in as many as 12,000 deaths, according to some estimates. 

Katz said the magnitude of the protests prompted worries that Iran could launch a preemptive strike on Isreal, convincing Israel to accelerate its plans. The accelerated schedule dovetailed with U.S. plans, Katz said. 

“There was joint planning, and afterward a joint operational planning process,” the minister said.