JERUSALEM: The joint Israeli-US strikes on Iran on Saturday targeted the Islamic republic’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and President Masoud Pezeshkian, Israel’s public broadcaster reported.
“Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian were among the targets of the attack,” Kan reported on its X account, citing an Israeli source.
A journalist on air also mentioned Ali Shamkhani, adviser to the supreme leader and former defense minister, while noting that he did not know whether the objectives of the strikes had been achieved.
“In our opening salvo, we went after targets that are high-profile, people involved in the plans to destroy Israel,” an Israeli security source told journalists, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier said Saturday that Israel and the United States had launched an operation against Iran to “remove the existential threat,” calling on Iranians to stand up to their government.
“My brothers and sisters, citizens of Israel, a short while ago Israel and the United States launched an operation to remove the existential threat posed by the terrorist regime in Iran,” Netanyahu said in a video statement.
“Our joint action will create the conditions for the brave Iranian people to take their destiny into their own hands,” Netanyahu added. “The time has come for all the people of Iran … to cast off the yoke of tyranny and bring about a free and peace-seeking Iran.”
Israel army says completed ‘broad strike’ against Iran’s defense systems
The Israeli military said it had completed what it described as a “broad strike” targeting Iran’s defense systems on Saturday, including one in the country’s western region.
“A short while ago, the IDF (military), guided by IDF intelligence, completed a broad strike against strategic defense systems belonging to the Iranian regime,” the military said.“One of the strikes was directed toward an advanced SA-65 aerial defense system located in the Kermanshah area in western Iran.”
The joint strikes had been planned over months and included the targeting of sites where senior Iranian officials were convening, resulting in the killing of several senior figures, an Israeli military official said.
“Three sites where gatherings of the Iranian terror regime were taking place were struck simultaneously, and several senior figures essential to the management of the campaign and the regime’s governance were eliminated,” the Israeli official said.
