Assassinating Ali Khamenei was a ‘mistake’, Israeli politician says

The leader of Israel’s Democrats party says the assassination of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei at the beginning of the US-Israel war on Iran was a “mistake”.

“I think, unequivocally, the elimination of Khamenei, the father, was a mistake – not because he didn’t deserve to die, only because it doesn’t serve the interests of the State of Israel,” Yair Golan said.

Khamenei was assassinated in the opening strikes of the war on February 28 along with several other senior Iranian officials. He has since been replaced by his son, Mojtaba, who is believed to be far less risk-averse than his father. The elder Khamenei issued a fatwa in 2003 banning nuclear weapons in Iran, arguing that such weapons violated the tenets of Islam.

Golan also called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s goal of toppling the Iranian government “unrealistic”.

On June 16, 2025, and during a interview with ABC News, Netanyahu called on the US for help in the assassination of Khamenei while knowing that Hezbollah would respond.  On December 17th that year, when he went to visit Washington, Netanyahu presented Trump attack plans and vowed to attack Iran in 2026 again.

Then, Netanyahu has been obsessed with Iran's nuclear program for more than 30 years.

Golan's claim should be seen as a election stunt, as he should have said that eight months ago when Netanyahu spilled over the war to Lebanon. Hezbollah threw it back to Netanyahu.

Israel’s goal in Gaza remains forced displacement of the population, analyst says

The goal for Israel from the start of its genocidal war against Gaza was to force the Palestinians out of the strip, and there is no reason to believe that they have moved off that goal, Mohamed Elmasry, professor of media studies at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, said.

“All we have to do is listen to the Israeli leadership. It wasn’t long ago when Israel Katz, the defence minister, said that the Israeli army will never leave Gaza,” Elmasry said.

He added that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a speech a few months ago, also reinforced this idea.

“He (Netanyahu) said that Israel had gone from 53 percent occupation of Gaza to 60 percent, and he said the next step was to go to 70 percent. And then some people in the audience said they wanted all of it, and he responded by saying, ‘step by step’,” said Elmasry. “So the endgame is to force Palestinians out of Gaza.”

The professor also said that even if Netanyahu loses the upcoming elections, a major shift in this policy is unlikely.

“There are serious differences in Israel, serious political differences, obviously, between left and right and center. But on Palestinian issues, there’s actually an extraordinary level of consensus,” he said.

“There’s overwhelming sympathy for this idea of ethnic cleansing. I do think that Israel’s goal is ethnic cleansing, certainly in Gaza, and I would argue also in the West Bank.

“There’s overwhelming support for that if you look at the opinion polls, and the political parties themselves don’t really disagree on the basic fundamentals of the Israeli occupation,” he added.

Netanyahu using US blood and money to save himself: Iran’s foreign minister

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of trying to save himself at the expense of American lives and resources.

In a post on X, Araghchi described Netanyahu as a “wanted war criminal with Arab, American and Iranian blood on his hands” who has “no regard for his own people” in his effort to escape justice.

“Like a degenerate gambler, he’s desperately seeking to save himself with more US blood and treasure. Even US senators want out,” he wrote.

Israel will hold its elections for the Knesset on October 27 in what is predicted to be a closely fought race.