Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was evacuated to an underground bunker in northeastern Tehran just hours after Israeli airstrikes began Friday, according to a report by Iran International citing two sources inside the country.

Khamenei, along with his family, reportedly took shelter in the heavily fortified Lavizan complex — the same location he retreated to during previous escalations in April and October 2024, when Iran launched missile attacks on Israel.

The revelation comes amid explosive claims that Israeli forces had an opportunity to assassinate the Supreme Leader during the opening phase of the current operation but refrained — reportedly due to pressure from the United States. Axios, citing U.S. officials, reported that President Donald Trump made it clear he was firmly against targeting Iran’s top political figure.

“We communicated to the Israelis that President Trump is opposed to that,” one senior U.S. official told the outlet. “The Iranians haven’t killed an American, and discussion of killing political leaders should not be on the table.”

According to a diplomatic source cited by Iran International, Israel intentionally withheld a strike on Khamenei to offer him one final chance to abandon the country’s uranium enrichment program.

The White House has so far distanced itself from Israel’s sweeping military campaign, which is now entering its fourth day. Officials say Trump is seeking to avoid further escalation and preserve a potential path to nuclear negotiations with Tehran. At the same time, the administration has argued that any Iranian retaliation against U.S. forces would be met with a crushing response.

Reports of a U.S.-Israeli rift over the assassination claims have been met with public denials in Jerusalem. Israeli National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi dismissed the Axios report in an interview with Channel 12, calling it “fake news.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also waved off the allegation in an interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier.

“There are a lot of false reports about conversations that didn’t take place,” Netanyahu said. “I don’t want to get into that.”

Still, Israeli Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter did not rule out future action against Khamenei. Speaking on ABC’s This Week, Leiter said, “I think it’s fair to say that nobody who’s threatening the destruction of Israel should be off the target list.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)