US President Donald Trump vetoed an Israeli plan to assassinate Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, two US officials informed Reuters. One senior administration official was quoted saying, “Have the Iranians killed an American yet? No. Until they do, we’re not even talking about going after the political leadership.”

When asked about the report, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declined to comment and said, “There’s so many false reports of conversations that never happened, and I’m not going to get into that.”

“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 added.

According to Reuters, top US officials said that Washington has been in constant contact with Israeli counterparts following Israel’s large-scale assault on Iran aimed at halting its nuclear program. While it remains unclear whether Trump directly conveyed the decision, sources confirmed he has been in regular communication with PM Netanyahu throughout the crisis.

In a separate televised interview with Fox News, Netanyahu suggested that regime change in Iran could be a consequence of Israel’s ongoing military campaign, which began Friday. He confirmed he had notified Trump ahead of the attacks.

Despite the worsening conflict, Trump struck a dual tone. On his social media platform Truth Social, he issued a stern warning to Tehran, vowing that “the full strength and might of the US armed forces” would be unleashed if Iran targets American interests.

“If we are attacked in any way, shape, or form by Iran, the full strength and might of the US armed forces will come down on you at levels never seen before,” Trump warned.

The warning to Iran came after Tehran reportedly threatened to target US, UK and French military bases and ships in the region if they attempted to block Iranian strikes on Israel, Reuters reported.

At the same time, he expressed hope for diplomacy, saying, “We can easily get a deal done between Iran and Israel and end this bloody conflict.”

Amid the rising tensions, Trump again urged both Iran and Israel to “make a deal”, saying that diplomacy as a way forward. He also claimed that his past efforts had brought peace between several nations, though he lamented that he “never got credit” for those successes.

Trump also pointed to his administration’s role in easing tensions between Serbia and Kosovo, as well as helping to foster peace between Egypt and Ethiopia over earlier disputes.

Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in a phone call with Trump on Sunday, offered Ankara’s support as a mediator to help resolve the nuclear dispute fueling the crisis between Israel and Iran.

Meanwhile, Israel launched a third consecutive day of airstrikes on targets inside Iran, some of which reportedly bypassed air defense systems and struck central urban areas. Israel has threatened further escalation.

According to Washington-based Human Rights Activists, an NGO monitoring developments in Iran, at least 406 people have been killed and 654 wounded in the strikes so far. The Iranian government has not released official casualty figures. Diplomatic talks aimed at de-escalating the crisis and addressing Iran’s nuclear program were reportedly canceled in light of the ongoing violence.

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