Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened that Iran would pay for attacking Israel with close to 200 missiles, as the region moved closer to an all-out war.
“Iran made a big mistake tonight - and it will pay for it. The regime in Tehran does not understand our determination to defend ourselves and to exact a price from our enemies,” Netanyahu told his security cabinet. It met Tuesday in the shadow of Iran’s second attack against the Jewish state, following the one in April.
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said that the event marked a significant escalation in tensions between the two arch-foes and threatened there would be consequences.
All three countries — Israel, the US, and Iran — ratcheted up the oral threats in the aftermath of the attack. The Islamic Republic warned it would strike back against any retaliatory action, while Washington and Jerusalem warned of consequences.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei posted a warning message to Israel in Hebrew on his X, fornerly Twitter, account after the attack, stressing that reprisal attacks against it would only grow stronger.
Each one “will become stronger and more painful on the worn and rotting body of the Zionist regime,” Khamenei said.
Netanyahu vows to target those who attack Israel
In statements, that he published, he threatened the Iranian leadership by recalling the Israeli assassinations of Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakrzadeh and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
“There are probably those in Tehran who do not understand” Israel’s military stance, but, he promised, “They will understand.”
“We will keep to the rule we have determined: Whoever attacks us – we attack them,” he stated.
“This is true wherever we fight the axis of evil. It is true in Judea and Samaria. It is true in Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen, and Syria – and it is also true in Iran. We are fighting the axis of evil everywhere, including in southern Lebanon and Gaza.
“We are fighting the axis of evil everywhere, including our heroic soldiers who are now operating in southern Lebanon and Gaza,” Netanyahu stated.
“Today, more than ever, the forces of light in the world must unite and work together against the ayatollahs' dark regime, which is the source of terror and evil in our region. They must stand alongside Israel. The choice has never been more clear, between tyranny and freedom,” he said.