Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Tuesday warned Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that his fate could be similar to that of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein if his forces continue to target Israel.
Smoke billows from a site near the Azadi Tower in central Tehran on June 16, 2025.
Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images
“I warn the Iranian dictator against continuing to commit war crimes and fire missiles at Israeli citizens,” Katz said. “He should remember what happened to the dictator in the country neighboring Iran who took this path against the State of Israel.”
Hussein was toppled by the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003. After nine months on the run, he was captured near the city of Tikrit. An Iraqi tribunal convicted Hussein of crimes against humanity and executed him by hanging in 2006.
Katz also said Iran’s “replacement chief of staff,” was killed in Israeli strikes on Iran overnight.
-ABC News’ Dana Savir and Ellie Kaufman