The Jewish state is ready “to strike at any time and in any place,” Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi warned Iran on Wednesday, speaking amid ongoing attacks by the Houthis and other Iranian proxies.
“Iran should know, its proxies should know and the entire Middle East, anyone who tries to undermine the stability and security of the State of Israel, the IDF will stand firm against them, ready to strike at any time and in any place,” Halevi warned in a speech at the 189th Wing Parade at the Israeli Air Force’s Hatzerim base near Beersheva.
Halevi noted that the IAF is making “a very significant contribution to the IDF’s achievements. For the first time, we stopped direct attacks from Iran and responded; we eliminated senior figures in the terror organizations; we undertook rescue operations under fire; and we destroyed many of the enemy’s capabilities—with an emphasis on surface-to-air missile arrays surrounding us.”
Yemen’s Houthis—an Iranian proxy with advanced weapons including cruise and surface-to-surface missiles, as well as drones—have stepped up their attacks on the Jewish state in recent days, repeatedly sending millions of Israeli civilians running for shelter over the past week.
Defense Minister Israel Katz vowed on Tuesday that “just as we dealt with [Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar in Gaza, [Hamas political leader Ismail] Haniyeh in Tehran and [Hezbollah chief Hassan] Nasrallah in Beirut, we will also deal with the heads of the Houthis in Sanaa and everywhere in Yemen.”
Iran is worried about a direct attack by Israel against its strategic sites in the near future, Israel’s Channel 12 News network reported on Sunday.
Tehran has reportedly reached this conclusion due to a series of events, including Jerusalem’s agreement to a ceasefire with the Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon. The regime has interpreted the move as being intended to free up the IDF to focus on the Islamic Republic directly.
Also on Sunday, Israel’s Ynet outlet reported that Mossad director David Barnea is urging an IAF strike on Iran in response to the Houthi attacks. Officials familiar with recent high-level meetings were cited as saying that Barnea argued that Jerusalem should “go for the head, Iran.”
