A U.S. official said that President Donald Trump rejected Israel's proposal to kill Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Israeli officials notified the Trump administration about a plausible plan to kill Khamenei in recent days, according to initial reports, as Breitbart News reported.

After being briefed on the plan, the White House supposedly told Israeli officials that Trump opposed the move, according to the official, who requested anonymity.

Trump administration sees killing Khamenei as escalating violence and destabilizing the region, aiming to prevent Israel's military operation against Iran's nuclear program from escalating.

From Israel

When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was asked about the plan during an interview on Fox News Channel’s “Special Report with Bret Baier,” the leader didn't say outright what the White House's response was.

“But I can tell you, I think that we do what we need to do, we’ll do what we need to do,” Netanyahu said. “And I think the United States knows what is good for the United States.”

Omer Dostri, a spokesman for Netanyahu, later characterized the accusations that Israel had plotted to assassinate Khamenei as "fake."

Additionally, Netanyahu noted in his interview with Fox that the Iranian regime is quite weak, thus a change in leadership "could certainly be the result" of the crisis.

The Trump Rejection

It was Reuters that broke the news that Trump had rejected the idea.

This came around the same time that Trump made himself quite clear with Iran on Sunday, telling them not to hit back against American targets in the Middle East.

The United States "had nothing to do with the attack on Iran," Trump tweeted early that morning, as Israel and Iran swapped missile attacks for the third day in a row.

But Iran has already stated that it would punish the United States for supporting Israel, as it is the United States that has supplied Israel with a large portion of its extensive stockpile of weapons.

Trump's Comments

“If we are attacked in any way, shape or form by Iran, the full strength and might of the U.S. Armed Forces will come down on you at levels never seen before,” Trump said, doubling down on his show of strength in the face of the conflict.

Hours later Trump addressed the issue on social media, saying he believes this can be solved diplomatically: “Iran and Israel should make a deal, and will make a deal,” and that the deal could come “soon.”