By Maayan Lubell and Rami Ayyub
JERUSALEM, March 12 (Reuters) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday issued a veiled threat to kill Iran’s new supreme leader as he sought to use his first press conference since the start of the war to defend his joint military assault with the U.S. against Iran.
Netanyahu said that Iran was “no longer the same” after nearly two weeks of U.S.-Israeli air bombardment and that Tehran had suffered blows to its elite Revolutionary Guards Corps and Basij paramilitary force.
Standing between two Israeli flags and taking questions via video link, Netanyahu vowed to keep hitting Lebanon’s Hezbollah after the Iran-backed group opened fire on March 2 to avenge the killing of Iran’s supreme leader at the start of the war.
Asked about what actions Israel might take against Iran’s new Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei and Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem, Netanyahu said:
“I wouldn’t issue life insurance policies on any of the leaders of the terrorist organization … I don’t intend to give an exact message here about what we are planning or what we are going to do.”
The Israeli leader said that Iran and Hezbollah no longer pose the same threats that they once did.
Netanyahu said he and U.S. President Donald Trump speak daily and that their conversations are free and open in nature.
(Reporting by Maayan Lubell, Rami Ayyub and Steven Scheer; Editing by Franklin Paul)
Disclaimer: This report is auto generated from the Reuters news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.