Israel Threatens to Respond with “Great Force” to Any Iranian Attack

Al-Taj News – Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Iran on Wednesday that Israel is prepared to respond “with great force” to any attack it may launch against it, amid renewed escalation between Washington and Tehran.

Katz said during a conference, “At the moment, they are carrying out strikes throughout the region except against us… but there is a possibility that they may attack us. And we are prepared for that defensively.”

He warned that if this happens, Israel will respond “with great force, independently of any other party,” adding, “Our aircraft are ready to take off.”

Washington and Tehran reached a ceasefire agreement in April. Despite the two sides repeatedly exchanging strikes since then, Israel remained outside the operations.

In an interview broadcast Wednesday, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar echoed Katz’s statements.

Sa’ar said, “If Iran attacks us, we will certainly respond forcefully, but I am not sure that Iran will make this mistake,” adding, “We have no plans to join the war at the moment.”

Iran launched a wave of retaliatory overnight attacks against sites across the Middle East, following widespread U.S. strikes on Tuesday evening.

Katz spoke of the possibility that Iran could take advantage of the Jewish holiday period, which begins in mid-September, to launch attacks against Israel.