Kill Orders Against Khamenei, His Son: Report Flags Trump's Iran Options

US President Donald Trump may allow Iran to continue its nuclear enrichment if Tehran promises to leave "no possible path" to make a nuclear bomb, according to a report by Axios. According to the American publication, if Tehran does not heed Washington's demands, Trump has a plan to kill Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his son Mojtaba, who is seen as a potential successor, and other members of the clergy leadership.

The report, which came at a time when Trump is continuously building the US armada in the Middle East, suggests that there could be a little possibility between the red lines set by Washington and Tehran for a deal to constrain Iran's nuclear capabilities without a war.

Trump's Options

Quoting US officials, Axios reported that the threshold for Iran's forthcoming nuclear proposal is very high because it would have to persuade the many skeptics—inside the Trump administration and in the region-- about Tehran's intent to completely give up on nuclear warhead production. 

"President Trump will be ready to accept a deal that would be substantive and that he can sell politically at home. If the Iranians want to prevent an attack, they should give us an offer we can't refuse. The Iranians keep missing the window. If they play games, there won't be a lot of patience," a senior US official told the publication. 

But the Pentagon is reportedly ready for the worst-case scenario and has given Trump numerous options to proceed in case Iran does not budge from its stance. 

"They have something for every scenario. One scenario takes out the ayatollah and his son and the mullahs," an advisor said.

"What the president chooses, no one knows. I don't think he knows," they added.

Per the report, the plan to kill Khamenei and his son was floated to Trump several weeks ago.

Weekend Attack Threat Looms 

Iran and the United States are sliding rapidly towards military conflict as hopes fade for a diplomatic solution to their standoff over Tehran's nuclear programme, officials on both sides and diplomats across the Gulf and Europe say.

Iran's Gulf neighbours and its enemy Israel now consider a conflict to be more likely than a settlement, sources told news agency Reuters, with Washington building up one of its biggest military deployments in the region since the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Israel's government reportedly believes Tehran and Washington are at an impasse and is making preparations for possible joint military action with the United States, though no decision has been made yet on whether to carry out such an operation. 

Earlier, the American media reported that the US military was ready to strike Iran over the weekend, but Trump has not made up his mind on the matter yet. 

"Trump is keeping his options open. He could decide on an attack at any moment," a Trump advisor told Axios. 

Iran's Stand

The last two rounds of Iran-US talks have stalled on core issues, from uranium enrichment to missiles and sanctions relief. However, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Friday said that both sides had agreed on "guiding principles," but the White House said there was still distance between them.

Iran is expected to submit a written proposal in the coming days, and Araqchi said on Friday he expected to have a draft counterproposal ready within the next two or three days. The Iranian Foreign Minister told MS NOW's "Morning Joe" that the Iranian draft proposal would be shared with the US after final approval from the political leadership in Tehran.

He, however, claimed that Washington has not asked Tehran to agree to "zero enrichment" during talks in Geneva last Tuesday. He also denied that Iran had offered in the talks to temporarily suspend its enrichment programme.

"What we are now talking about is how to make sure that Iran's nuclear programme, including enrichment, is peaceful and would remain peaceful forever," Araghchi said, adding that Iran would take "confidence-building measures" in return for sanctions relief from the US.

He stressed the plan will include "political commitments and technical measures" to ensure the Iranian nuclear programme is only for peaceful purposes.

According to Araghchi, Raphael Grossi, who heads the UN nuclear watchdog, is involved in the negotiations and had suggested "technical measures" to ensure that Iran's nuclear programme can't "be diverted to non-peaceful purposes."

Such "technical measures" could potentially mean UN inspectors return to Iran with a robust monitoring mandate and the removal or dilution of the 450kg of highly enriched uranium that was buried in Iran's nuclear facilities by US and Israeli bombs.

US Stand

The US officials have stressed that any Iranian proposal must be "very detailed" and must prove that the Iranian nuclear programme will be "benign".

"We will see what he gives us in writing. Based on that, we will see how serious they are. The ball is in their court," an official told Axios.