The Pentagon's policy chief on Tuesday seemed to distance Washington from the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli strikes on Saturday (February 28), calling it "Israeli operations."
Testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee in support of the Trump administration's new national defense strategy, Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby said America's focus was on protecting US troops in the region and degrading its missile, drone and naval capabilities.
He made it clear that the killing of Khamenei and other senior Iranian leaders was not part of the American military campaign.
"Those are Israeli operations," Colby said, pushing back when pressed by lawmakers about whether regime change was an objective of US action.
Colby's comments contradict Trump's "I got him before he got me" remark from two days ago.
"Got Him Before He Got Me": Trump On Khamenei's Killing
Trump on Monday alleged that Ali Khamenei tried to get him killed twice and rejoiced that he got Khamenei first, according to ABC News.
Trump commented on a call with Jonathan Karl, the Chief Washington Correspondent at ABC News, on Sunday evening.
"President Trump told me this about the death of Ayatollah Khamenei: "I got him before he got me. They tried twice. Well I got him first." That's a reference to what US intelligence believes was a plot to kill Trump in 2024," Karl wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
In another phone call this evening, President Trump told me this about the death of Ayatollah Khamenei:
— Jonathan Karl (@jonkarl) March 2, 2026
"I got him before he got me. They tried twice. Well I got him first."
That's a reference to what US intelligence believes was a plot to kill Trump in 2024.
While announcing Khamenei's death on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump called him one of the most evil people in history.
Trump said Khamenei was "unable to avoid our Intelligence and Highly Sophisticated Tracking Systems and, working closely with Israel, there was not a thing he, or the other leaders that have been killed along with him, could do."
Pentagon Policy Chief Reiterates Trump's "America First" Agenda
Colby said that the war against Iran is targeted and doesn't conflict with Trump's "America First" agenda.
"I would say America First and Peace Through Strength are served by rolling back, as the military campaign is designed to do, the threats posed by Iran's very large and growing missile and one-way attack drone program, its navy and of course ensuring that it doesn't have a nuclear weapon," Colby said, as reported by Politico.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in a Pentagon briefing on Monday, said the operation was "not Iraq. It's not an endless war."
US-Israel-Iran Conflict
The joint US-Israel strikes, named 'Operation Epic Fury', were launched after stalled nuclear talks and claims that Tehran had resumed its nuclear activities. The strikes targeted many Iranian cities, including the capital, Tehran. Over 700 people have been killed in the attack, reports said.
Hours after the joint attack, Iran launched missiles - many of which hit Gulf regions including Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Qatar, and Bahrain.
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