He added that his return to Washington was “much bigger than that,” but did not include anymore details.
There were heavy air strikes and explosions in the capital of Tehran overnight, with Israel saying it had killed Ali Shadmani, Iran’s new wartime chief of staff and the country’s most senior military commander. Iranian officials did not confirm his death.
Israel’s offensive has wiped out much of Iran’s top brass, as well as senior scientists working on the country’s nuclear program, which Israel says poses an “existential threat.”
Iran says it is not seeking nuclear weapons, although the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, last week condemned the Islamic Republic of breaching its non-proliferation obligations for the first time in almost 20 years.
Iran in response launched two waves of missiles to the Israeli attacks, setting off air raid alerts in parts of central and northern Israel in the early hours.
Netanyahu also dismissed reports that he and Trump were in disagreement over Israel’s targeting of Khamenei, saying, “I wouldn’t rush to conclusions.”
The Israeli leader suggested that U.S. support for Israel’s attempts to eliminate Iran’s nuclear program would prevent the two allies from being “on the brink of nuclear war” waged by Iran, whom he accused of “stringing the U.S. along” during negotiations over a nuclear deal.
At least 224 people have been killed since Israel began bombing Iran on Friday, Iranian state media reported, while Iranian retaliatory strikes have killed at least 24 people in Israel.
While calls for a regime change in Iran have grown louder from Israel and its allies in Washington, Mohammad Eslami, a research fellow at Tehran University, told NBC News Tuesday that Iranian sentiment toward the Supreme Leader was now focused on unity and holding the country together.
“This is a clear rally around the flag moment” for the Iranian people, he said, adding, “The most important thing Iranians are thinking about the motherland.”
Natasha Lebedeva contributed.
