Trump Vetoes Israel's Plan to Kill Iran's Supreme Leader, US Officials Claim

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Two United States officials on Sunday claimed President Donald Trump vetoed Israel's plan in recent days to kill Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

"Has Iran killed an American? No. Until they do, we aren't even talking about going after political leadership," said one source, a senior US government official as quoted by Al Arabiya.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said US high-level officials had been in constant communication with Tel Aviv officials since Israel launched a large-scale attack on Iran without provocation from Tehran.

They said Israel had the opportunity to kill Iran's top leader, but Trump disregarded the plan.

The US officials did not say whether Trump himself conveyed the message. However, Trump has frequently communicated with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

When asked about the report, Netanyahu, in an interview on Sunday with "Special Report with Bret Baier" on Fox News Channel, said, "There's so many false reports about conversations that never happened, and I'm not going to comment on it."

"But I can tell you, I think we do what we need to do, we will do what we need to do. And I think the United States knows what's good for the United States," Netanyahu said.

Despite evidence that the conflict between Israel and Iran is escalating, Trump expressed optimism on Sunday that peace would soon come. He even mentioned the possibility that Russian President Vladimir Putin could help.

In a social media post, Trump said there were many unreported meetings on the issue and urged both countries to make a deal. And in an interview with ABC News, Trump said he was open to Putin as a mediator between Israel and Iran.

Israel and Iran launched new attacks on each other on Sunday night, killing many people.

"Iran and Israel have to make a deal, and they will make a deal," Trump wrote on his Truth Social website. "We will soon reach PEACE, between Israel and Iran! Many calls and meetings are taking place."

Trump did not provide any details about the meetings or evidence of progress towards peace.

His statement contradicts comments from Netanyahu, who said on Saturday that Israeli aggression against Iran would increase.

A White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on how Trump and the White House were working to ease the situation in the Middle East.

Trump told ABC News that Iran wanted to make a deal and indicated something like an Israeli attack would speed it up. "Something like this has to happen because I think even from both sides, but something like this has to happen. They want to talk, and they will talk," Trump said, according to ABC reporter Rachel Scott.

"It might have forced the deal to go faster, actually."

The United States has been involved in talks with Iran about its nuclear program, and Trump had previously told reporters that the talks were going well. However, another round of discussions scheduled for Sunday in Oman was canceled after Israel's attack on Iran.

Trump said he and Putin had discussed the situation in the Middle East on Saturday through a phone call that focused more on the conflict than Russia's war in Ukraine.

"He's ready. He called me to talk about it," Trump said about Putin acting as a mediator, according to Scott. "We talked at great length about it. We talked about it more than the situation. This is something I believe will be resolved."

Trump, who portrays himself as a peacemaker and has faced criticism from his political base for not being able to prevent the Israel-Iran conflict, cited other disputes that he has taken on the responsibility to resolve, including between India and Pakistan, and lamented not receiving more praise for his actions.

"I've done a lot, and never get credit for anything, but that's okay, THE PEOPLE understand. MAKE THE MIDDLE EAST GREAT AGAIN!" he wrote on Truth Social.

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