Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz on Thursday said the country's military is prepared to resume strikes against Iran "with even greater force" if necessary,
as renewed fighting between the United States and Iran raises fears of a wider regional conflict. Speaking at a military graduation ceremony, Katz said the Israeli military remained ready to launch another campaign against Iran. "The army is ready and on alert for a resumption of fighting, in order to regain air superiority and strike again... in Iran, to eliminate threats, including a third time if necessary," he said. "If we have to go back, we will go back, with even greater force." His remarks came as fresh hostilities erupted between Washington and Tehran, weeks after an April ceasefire and a June agreement between the United States and Iran aimed at ending the conflict.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also said Iran had been significantly weakened by Israel's previous military campaigns but cautioned that the conflict had not yet ended. "The Iranian axis is weaker than ever before, while Israel is stronger than ever before," Netanyahu said. "We proved that the long arm of the Israeli Air Force can reach anywhere, from Yemen to Iran. Yet we must also acknowledge that the campaign is not over."
He added: "We are prepared for every scenario, and we know one thing: we must always be stronger than our enemies."
Netanyahu also said Israel was pursuing what he described as a policy of "armaments independence", announcing plans to increase the country's defence budget by 350 billion shekels (about $115 billion) over the next decade.
"We will also develop an extensive armaments industry, blue-white (Israeli) production, our own munitions, that will open, or more precisely will reduce our dependence on procurement from abroad," he said.
Katz echoed that message, saying the military remained "on alert and ready to renew the campaign, to reestablish aerial superiority, and to carry out a blue-white (Israeli) strike in Iran to remove threats."
According to the reports, the current conflict began on 28 February, when the United States and Israel launched an air campaign against Iran that killed the country's Supreme Leader and other senior officials.
The latest comments come as the United States and Iran continue exchanging strikes, fuelling concerns that efforts to end the conflict through diplomacy may have broken down.
