NEW YORK, June 20. /TASS/. The US is preparing for massive airstrikes on Iranian territory in the coming weekend, noted American journalist Seymour Hersh reported, citing sources in Washington and among Israeli insiders.
According to the journalist, the operation will "entail heavy American bombing." A senior Washington official told Hersh that "all will be under control" if Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei "departs." However, Hersh emphasized that it was unclear how that could happen "short of his assassination."
"There has been a great deal of talk about American firepower and targets inside Iran, but little practical thinking, as far I can tell, about how to remove a revered religious leader with an enormous following," the journalist noted.
Trump has not ruled out the possibility of striking Iran. On Thursday, the White House said that the president will decide within two weeks whether the US will strike Iran.
In an interview with Kan, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that overthrowing the Iranian government is not the goal of the country’s operation but that it could be the result. He also said that no one in Iran will be immune to Israeli attacks.·Overnight into June 13, Israel kicked off Operation Rising Lion aimed against Iran’s nuclear program. Less than 24 hours later, Iran launched a retaliatory attack. In the following days, Tel Aviv and Tehran exchanged strikes again. Both sides reported casualties resulting from these attacks and acknowledged hits on several targets within their territories, though they claimed the damage was limited.