Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz issued a direct threat to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Monday, warning the dictator to “look up at the sky and listen carefully to every buzz” when he emerges from his bunker, after Tehran published an assassination hit list targeting top Israeli officials.
The warning came in response to a Hebrew-language graphic circulated by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard-affiliated Telegram channel Saberin News marking senior Israeli officials as assassination targets, including labeling Katz as “Terror Minister Israel Katz.” The graphic also targets Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom it accuses of crimes against humanity, and Israeli Air Force chief Tomer Bar, whom it brands a “murderer of children.”
“I suggest to the Iranian dictator Khamenei that when he leaves his bunker, he occasionally look up at the sky and listen carefully to every buzz,” Katz wrote on X. “The participants of the ‘red wedding’ are waiting for him there.”
The reference to “Red Wedding” points to Israel’s coordinated military campaign that began on June 13, targeting Iran’s most senior military commanders. The operation, named after the massacre scene from Game of Thrones, eliminated key Revolutionary Guards figures, including commander Hossein Salami, armed forces chief of staff Mohammad Bagheri, and senior general Gholam Ali Rashid.
This exchange represents an escalation in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran, coming despite a U.S.-brokered ceasefire on June 24 that ended a 12-day war. Iran’s new intelligence chief said last week that Tehran views the ceasefire as nothing more than a temporary pause in what they consider an ongoing war against Israel.
Iran’s nuclear program has been under intense scrutiny, with Iranian state media confirming over the weekend the execution of Rouzbeh Vadi, identified as one of the nation’s top nuclear scientists, on charges of espionage and cooperation with Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency. Vadi confessed to sending Israeli intelligence critical information about Iran’s Fordow and Natanz nuclear enrichment facilities, according to broadcasts on state television.
The Sunday Telegraph reported over the weekend that Iran has moved its surviving nuclear scientists into hiding after Israel killed more than 30 of their colleagues during recent operations. At least 15 top researchers have been relocated to secure locations with round-the-clock protection, according to a senior Iranian official cited in the report. Israeli experts described the remaining scientists as “dead men walking,” noting that a new generation of Iranian researchers has already stepped into the roles of those killed.
The defense minister’s warning about listening for “buzzing” sounds appears to reference Israel’s sophisticated drone capabilities, suggesting that Khamenei should fear Israeli surveillance and potential targeted strikes even when moving between his heavily fortified positions in Tehran.
Joshua Klein is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaKlein.
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