“If he’s alive...”: Iran vows to “pursue, kill” Netanyahu amid death rumours

Iran has vowed to “pursue and kill” Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as it continued strikes on Israel on the 16th day of the war in the Middle East.

“If this child-killing criminal is alive, we will continue to pursue and kill him with full force,” the Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said in a statement amid social media posts raising questions about the whereabouts of Netanyahu, who has reportedly not been seen in public for a few days.

Several users have flagged concerns over his March 12 video, which made it seem like he had six fingers on one of his hands, raising suspicion of it being edited using artificial intelligence.

In the video, 76-year-old Netanyahu was addressing his first news conference since the US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran started on February 28.

He had issued a veiled threat to kill new Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and defended the Israeli military’s operations.

“I will not detail the actions we are taking. We are creating the optimal conditions for toppling the regime but I won’t deny that I can’t tell you with all certainty that the people of Iran will topple the regime - a regime is toppled from the inside,” Netanyahu said in Hebrew.

American conservative political commentator Candace Owens was among those who asked, “Where’s Bibi?”, referring to Netanyahu by his nickname.

“Why is his office releasing and deleting fake AI videos from him and why is there mass panic at the White House?” she posted on X on Saturday.

Netanyahu’s Office Debunks Reports Of His Death

Benjamin Netanyahu’s office denied reports of his death and said he is “fine”.

“These are fake news; the Prime Minister is fine,” his office told Turkey’s Anadolu Agency when asked if they had a statement on the increasing claims on social media that “Netanyahu has been assassinated”.

Netanyahu’s office or his aides, however, have so far not issued any official statement.

Some users have also said that his son, Yair Netanyahu, has been “missing” from social media. Yair, who has about 284,000 followers on X and has been very active, has not posted anything since March 9.

Iran-Israel-US War

The Middle East was plunged into chaos after the US and Israel carried out joint strikes on Iran last month, killing 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and sparking a war.

In response, Iran has been attacking Israel and US military bases in Gulf countries. Israel and the US have also been striking Iranian sites.

The war has killed more than 2,000 people, mostly in Iran, according to reports.

- Agencies