Israel intended to kill Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, during the 12-day war but did not have the opportunity to do so.

Axar.az reports that Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz made the statement in an interview with Channel 13.

“We wanted to kill Khamenei, but there was no operational opportunity for that. However, Khamenei understood this and went underground—deep underground—and cut off contact with the commanders who replaced those we had eliminated. As a result, it was no longer feasible,” Katz said.

In response to a question about whether the U.S. had granted permission for such an operation, Katz replied: “We don’t need permission for such things.”

It is worth noting that the defense minister previously stated that the assassination of Khamenei was one of the main objectives of military operations during the war.