India, June 27 -- Israel Defence Minister Israel Katz has said his country's military sought to eliminate Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, during the recent 12-day conflict between the two nations.

"If he had been in our sights, we would have taken him out," Katz told Channel 13 as quoted by The Times of Israel.

He claimed the armed forces 'searched' for Khamenei, but the operational opportunity did not arise.

Iran on Thursday claimed victory over the "US regime," stating that it had delivered a "heavy slap" to the country's face with airstrikes on Al Udeid air base in Qatar.

The ceasefire followed the US strike on three nuclear sites in Iran and then Tehran's retaliatory attack at a US base in Qatar.

"The Islamic Republ...