Tehran’s intelligence chief has reportedly alleged that foreign adversaries are targeting the Islamic Republic’s supreme leader.
According to the ISNA news agency, Iran’s intelligence chief has accused the United States and Israel of conspiring to assassinate Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as part of an effort to destabilize the nation.
The outlet reported that Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib stated on Saturday that “the enemy,” referring to the US and Israel, “seeks to target the supreme leader, sometimes with assassination attempts, sometimes with hostile attacks.”
It was not clear if the minister was referring to a specific plot. Prior to the 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran in June, public claims of threats to Khamenei’s life were rare. Before a US-brokered ceasefire on June 24, Israeli strikes resulted in the deaths of several senior Iranian commanders and nuclear scientists. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserted that he had ordered these attacks to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, a campaign supported by Washington, which joined Israeli raids on Iranian nuclear facilities on June 22. Tehran, which denies pursuing nuclear weapons, condemned the strikes as unprovoked.
Khatib reportedly cautioned that “those who act in this direction, knowingly or unknowingly, are the infiltrating agents of the enemy.”
He further stated that Israel was contending with “an epidemic of infiltration and espionage for Iran within its own institutions,” citing the recent arrest of an Israeli Air Force officer suspected of spying for Tehran. Khatib reportedly asserted that Iran had acquired confidential nuclear information and other highly sensitive security documents.
According to Khatib, this intelligence breach, combined with what he described as Iran’s steadfast stance during the 12-day war, signaled evolving regional power dynamics.
Earlier this year, Netanyahu dismissed reports that US President Donald Trump had vetoed an Israeli plan to kill Iran’s supreme leader during the conflict, adding that such a strike would “end the conflict.”
Trump had previously claimed Khamenei was a “very easy target” and that Washington would not “take him out, at least not for now,” later stating on Truth Social that he had saved the Iranian leader from “A VERY UGLY AND IGNOMINIOUS DEATH.”
Khamenei, 86, has held the position of Iran’s supreme leader since 1989, possessing final authority over all state affairs.