Hamzeh Safavi, son of Yahya Rahim-Safavi, a senior military adviser to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, said Iran must be prepared for the possibility that Israel could attempt to assassinate the country’s top leader.
In a video interview, Safavi, a political science professor at Tehran University, repeatedly referred to the possibility of Khamenei’s killing, describing such scenarios as “disruptive and hostile acts” that Israel might pursue independently of US approval.
“If the issue of access to the number one or number two person in the country arises, they will carry it out at any cost, even at the risk of war,” Safavi said. “If Israel does this without America’s permission, the US will face a fait accompli, and Iran will be forced to think through its response.”
Former Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant said last week that eliminating Khamenei should be part of Israel’s plan in any future conflict. Israeli officials, including Defense Minister Israel Katz, have also issued warnings aimed at the Supreme Leader, amid heightened rhetoric between Tehran and Tel Aviv following their 12-day war in June.
Safavi said US President Donald Trump had once claimed he stopped Israeli plans to target Khamenei during the June conflict. Trump later boasted he had “saved” the Iranian leader from what he called a “very disgraceful and humiliating death.”
While Safavi said war with Israel remained possible, he warned of what he called a more dangerous scenario of “gradual humiliation and erosion” if Iran did not respond to escalating threats.
“The worst scenario is not war. The worst scenario is being worn down,” he said.
Safavi also voiced rare criticism of Khamenei’s long-held stance on Washington, urging Iran to pursue what he called “comprehensive negotiations” with the United States that go beyond uranium enrichment.
“The nuclear deal was a single-issue agreement, and that is why it failed,” he said. “We need comprehensive talks with America.”
Rahim-Safavi, his father and Khamenei’s longtime military adviser, has himself said another war with Israel may be inevitable, but could be the last. “We soldiers always plan for the worst-case scenario,” he said in August.
