Washington, June 15: President Donald Trump vetoed a plan presented by Israel to the US to kill Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to a US official familiar with the matter. The Israelis informed the Trump administration in recent days that it had developed a credible plan to kill Khamanei. After being briefed on the plan, the White House made clear to Israeli officials that Trump was opposed to the Israelis making the move, according to the official who was not authorised to comment on the sensitive matter and spoke on the condition of anonymity. Donald Trump Rejected Israel’s Plan To Kill Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei: Report.

The Trump administration is desperate to keep Israel's military operation aimed at decapitating Iran's nuclear programme from exploding into an even more expansive conflict and saw the plan to kill Khamenei as a move that would enflame the conflict and potentially destabilise the region. Asked on Sunday about the plan during a Fox News Channel's “Special Report with Bret Baier", Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declined to comment. Israel-Iran Conflict: Israeli Air Force Hits Aerial Refuelling Plane in Mashhad Airport in ‘Longest-Range Strike’.

“But I can tell you, I think that we do what we need to do, we'll do what we need to do. And I think the United States knows what is good for the United States,” Netanyahu said. Trump's rejection of the proposal was first reported by Reuters.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)