President Donald Trump received a Pentagon briefing that included a direct option to kill Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his son Mojtaba, according to a new report.
A senior Trump adviser described the full menu of choices this way:
“They have something for every scenario. One scenario takes out the ayatollah and his son and the mullahs.”
The details surfaced Friday in Axios and quickly spread across Bloomberg, Hindustan Times, NDTV and others. No strike has been ordered. Trump has not given the green light.
A tweet from X.
Senior U.S. officials told Axios the briefing happened several weeks ago. It covered limited hits on nuclear sites, broader pressure moves, and the high-end decapitation strike aimed at top leadership.
The goal stays simple: force Iran back to the table for a new nuclear deal. Trump has already delivered a public 10-to-15-day ultimatum.
American forces have poured into the Middle East. Two aircraft carrier strike groups, extra F-35s, F-22s, tankers and air defenses now sit in position the biggest buildup since the 2003 Iraq invasion.
Officials call it “not a dress rehearsal.”
Iranian leaders wasted no time pushing back. Supreme Leader Khamenei, 86, said bluntly:
“You will not be able to do this.”
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and other officials warned any attack would spark massive retaliation, possibly pulling in proxies, hitting oil routes, and dragging in Russia and China.
We know the Pentagon presented options, including the assassination scenario. Multiple established outlets echoed the Axios story based on senior administration sources.
What we don’t know: whether Trump seriously considered the extreme option or simply reviewed every contingency, as presidents routinely do. Briefing is not the same as approval. The White House and Pentagon have stayed silent on specifics standard for sensitive national-security leaks.
The story first blew up on X from accounts like @Eng_china5, then got picked up by mainstream outlets within hours.
Higher gas prices would hit wallets fast. Analysts cited by Fortune say a serious flare-up could send oil up 20 to 30 percent.
U.S. troops already in the region face real risk. drone strike that killed Iranian general Qasem Soleimani showed how quickly Iran can strike back at American bases.
Congress has not been asked for new war powers, raising fresh questions about who decides escalation in Trump’s second term.
Trump took the Soleimani shot in his first term. Earlier in 2025 he rejected a similar Israeli proposal to target Khamenei, worried it would spark wider war.
This time the stakes sit even higher: Iran’s uranium enrichment sits near weapons-grade levels, nationwide protests have killed thousands, and the regime looks shaky.
Backchannel talks continue in Geneva. Iran floated a three-year enrichment pause and no more missile attacks on Israel. Trump’s team says it would accept limited “token” enrichment only if there is zero path to a bomb.
The situation stays fluid. Diplomacy runs alongside military planning. One wrong move could light the fuse or force the deal Trump wants to call a win.
Americans will watch closely how the second-term foreign policy actually plays out.
