[ad_1]
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth holds a bilateral exchange with Israel Minister of Defense Israel Katz at the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., July 18, 2025. (DoD photo by U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Noel Diaz)
Defense Minister Israel Katz said Tel Aviv would conduct a large attack on Iran if Tehran fired a missile at Israel. Iran has attacked Israel over Israeli ceasefire violations in Lebanon.
“If Iran fires missiles at Israel, Israel will strike Iran with force,” Katz told reporters on Monday. “There is no equation we will accept in which Iran fires at Israel. This has also been made clear to the Americans. The IDF is just waiting for it and is on alert. There are targets.”
Iran has threatened to attack Israel if it continues to violate the ceasefire in Lebanon. Earlier this month, the US and Iran signed a Memorandum of Understanding that included a 60-day ceasefire that extended to Lebanon.
Rather than comply with the truce, Israel has continued to attack Lebanon. In early June, Iran launched several missiles at Israel after the IDF bombed Beirut. Katz acknowledged that Israel’s bombing of Lebanon could reignite the war. “The possibility exists that Iran will attack Israel not only in response to strikes in the Dahieh. We could find ourselves at war with Iran tomorrow,” he said.
Tel Aviv has attempted to argue that the war against Hezbollah is separate from the conflict with Iran, and the MOU cannot enforce a truce in Lebanon. “When President Trump linked Iran to Lebanon, we stopped toppling buildings in Beirut,” Katz explained. “The connection between the theaters is an American interest, and these are the constraints of our partnership with the United States.
The Israeli ceasefire violations are undermining the US-Iranian peace talks. Katz believes if Trump gives up on negotiations, Israel will receive the green light to return to war with Iran.
“One is that Trump decides the negotiations have run their course and wants to go back to striking, and the second is that Iran attacks us.” He added, “If Iran attacks, that is the third Iran war. The situation is very clear. There is no reality in which Israel will allow missile fire at its territory without responding with force. It could happen within two days. My directive to the IDF is to prepare for a blue-and-white operation in Iran.”
[ad_2]
Source link
