Putin Rejects Speculation on Khamenei Assassination, Warns Against Escalation in Israel-Iran Conflict

Russian President Vladimir Putin has refused to comment on rumors of the possible assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as tensions rise of a wider Middle East war. In a speech to the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum on Thursday, Putin warned caution and once again insisted on a diplomatic solution to the widening Israel-Iran conflict.

If I may, I hope that this will be the most honest response to your question. I do not even want to talk about this possibility. I do not want to,” Putin said when asked whether Israel or America would strike Khamenei.

Iran-Israel War: Russia Advices U.S. Not to Intervene

His comments come after that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued subtle threats on Monday that Israel’s ongoing military campaign could bring regime change in Iran. Israeli airstrikes, targeting Iranian military sites and nuclear experts, have killed at least 585 people, including 239 civilians, since last Friday, according to a U.S.-based Iranian human rights group.

U.S. President Donald Trump, in a recent statement, said Washington was aware where Khamenei was but had “no immediate plans” to relocate—though he deliberately did not rule out future engagement with Israel.

In defiance of growing global pressure, Putin defended Iran’s internal cohesion: “We observe that today in Iran, amid all the intricacy of the internal political processes there … that there is a unification of society around the political leadership of the country.”

Putin has also positioned himself as a possible mediator, though his efforts have been met with skepticism in Western capitals. Trump was reported to have spurned the invitation, telling reporters, “Mediate your own conflict,” regarding Russia’s war with Ukraine.

But Putin emphasized that any resolution of the crisis would be required to reconcile Iran’s sovereign right to peaceful nuclear development with Israel’s “unconditional security.”

This is a delicate issue, and of course we have to be extremely careful here, but in my opinion, an exit is possible,” he said.

The Kremlin was firmer in another interview, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov warning of catastrophic outcomes in the event of any assassination attempt on Khamenei.

“Iran regime change is impossible to imagine. It has to be unacceptable, to speak about it has to be unacceptable for any person,” Peskov told Sky News in an extraordinary foreign interview. He also added that the act would “open the Pandora’s box” and incite extremist revenge in Iran.

Shy of specifying Russia’s potential military or diplomatic response, Peskov cautioned that “it would trigger action from inside Iran.”

The situation is extremely tense and poses a risk not only for the region but for the entire world,” he said in the Constantine Palace in Saint Petersburg. “A broadening of the composition of the actors of the conflict is even riskier.”.

Russia has further intensified its collaboration with Iran since the Ukraine war started. Last January, the two countries signed a strategic partnership agreement. While Moscow has not supplied weapons to Tehran, it is still helping Tehran’s nuclear energy program—asserting help Moscow maintains is civilian in purpose.

Putin said more than 200 Russian employees are currently working at the Russian-built Bushehr nuclear plant in Iran’s south, and their security was guaranteed through negotiations with the Israeli government.

“These subterranean factories, they exist, nothing has been done to them,” Putin said, referring to Iran’s nuclear plants. “We came to an agreement with the Israeli leadership that their security would be guaranteed.”

Simultaneously, as conflict draws nearer on the horizon in the Middle East, Russia is accelerating military activity in Ukraine. When Russian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy invited Russia to declare a temporary 30-day truce, Russia rejected the initiative, viewing it as an opportunity for Ukraine to resupply.

Now we have an advantage strategically. Why would we give it up? We are not going to give it up. We are moving further. We’re moving forward and will keep on moving forward,” Peskov declared.

Growing Russian-Iranian cooperation, as well as potential U.S. and Israeli military action, has sparked concern across diplomatic circles over a multi-front war with global implications.

While Putin continues to project himself as a peacemaker, commentators foresee that his influence may be curtailed given Russia’s geopolitical stake itself and its further consolidation of alliance with Tehran.

Still, the Kremlin has sent one message: any move toward eliminating Iran’s supreme leader, the Kremlin booms, would plunge the Middle East and probably the world into potentially dangerous and uncharted chaos.