Prominent Emiratis suggest Israel could kill Khamenei in Jerusalem Post op-ed

A prominent Emirati analyst has suggested that Israel could kill Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei after the assassination of key Iranian allies.

Salem Alketbi wrote in the Israeli news outlet Jerusalem Post that the possibility of Israel assassinating Khamenei was “highly plausible” given the success the country has had in penetrating Iran’s security apparatus.

“Recent attacks and intelligence breaches targeting Iranian security institutions and their associated allies, especially Hezbollah in Lebanon, make the scenario of Khamenei’s assassination highly plausible,” he wrote.

He noted that the killings of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, among others, had not yet provoked a serious response from Iran.

“It appears that Israel’s successive and escalating assassinations of prominent Iranian or pro-Iranian leaders have so far not resulted in costs that would force the Israeli security establishment to halt these daring operations, even if they were to kill the head of the Iranian government. meet.” regime,” he wrote.

However, he added that the prospect of a direct strike on Khamenei could also be “receding” in favor of attacks on Iran’s nuclear and missile program facilities.

Israel has succeeded in eliminating some of its regional opponents in recent months.

On Wednesday, Hezbollah confirmed the death of Hashem Safieddine, a top official who was believed to be the first choice to take over the group’s leadership after Nasrallah’s killing last month.

The announcement ends weeks of speculation about Safieddine’s death, following an Israeli airstrike in Beirut on October 3.

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Safieddine is the latest leading Hezbollah figure to be killed by Israel, following a series of assassinations and bombings that took out most of the group’s leadership and killed hundreds of Lebanese civilians.

Following an Iranian attack on Israel in October, Israel vowed to retaliate, although no direct action has been taken so far.

Last month, Israel’s Channel 14 published a list of the top assassination targets across the region.

Although Khamenei was omitted, it also included leaders of the Yemeni Houthis, Sinwar and, most controversially, Iraqi Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.

Sistani’s inclusion on the list sparked anger in Iraq, where he is seen as largely staying out of party politics and someone who has largely limited his involvement in the current regional fighting to advocating humanitarian aid.

Alketbi wrote in the Jerusalem Post that while Sistani had called Nasrallah a “martyr” and broadly supported Iran’s position on the conflict, he said he did not “have the same weight” among armed actors as Khamenei.

“With Sistani able to mobilize most, but not all, of the Iraqi Shia front, it stands to reason that Israel might consider adding Khamenei himself to the assassination list,” he wrote.

“The political and security costs would entail only minor differences in both cases. Both are great Shia leaders, and the expected Shia anger in the event of the assassination of either would be similar,” he added.

“It could be even greater in the case of Sistani, given the factor of infighting within the circle close to the Iranian supreme leader,” Alketbi wrote.