Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, as a “puppet of the Revolutionary Guards,” referring to the elite force at the forefront of Tehran’s attacks.
Netanyahu said at a press conference late Thursday that the cleric “cannot show his face in public.”
Khamenei, the son of the slain supreme leader Ali Khamenei, is believed to have been wounded in an Israeli strike in Iran.
Netanyahu hinted at possible further assassination attempts, saying he would not “not take out life insurance” for Israel’s foes.
Netanyahu said Israel’s strikes in Iran could create conditions for the overthrow of the Islamic Republic’s ruling system, though he added that such an outcome ultimately depended on the Iranian people.
“I say to the Iranian people: The moment when you can walk out into freedom is drawing ever closer,” he said.
Netanyahu reiterated that the aim of the nearly two-week-old war launched with the United States is to deal “lethal blows” to Iran’s nuclear and missile programmes and to prevent the Iranian leadership from hiding those programmes in underground facilities.
He also said Israel had killed a senior nuclear scientist during the conflict but did not provide further details.
Khamenei had earlier Thursday called for revenge for the victims of the war in his first statement since becoming supreme leader on March 8.
The comments were read by a news anchor on state television.