Pakistan, June 17 -- The assassination of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei would "end" the ongoing conflict between Tehran and Tel Aviv, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday as he refused to rule out taking the action amid the highly volatile regional conflict.

"It's not going to escalate the conflict, it's going to end the conflict," Netanyahu said during an interview with ABC News. "The 'forever war' is what Iran wants, and they're bringing us to the brink of nuclear war. In fact, what Israel is doing is preventing this, bringing an end to this aggression, and we can only do so by standing up to the forces of evil."

Earlier reports suggested that President Donald Trump had vetoed an Israeli plan to kill Khamenei. ...