Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz threatened on Wednesday that Israel could launch a “pre-emptive” attack on Iran for the third time, as Israeli officials continue to make clear they’re eager for the full-scale US-Israeli war against the Islamic Republic to restart.
Speaking at a memorial for Israelis killed in the 2006 Lebanon war, Katz said Israel could strike Iran again “if necessary” despite the US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding. “We have attacked twice with proactive, preemptive strikes in Iran and, if necessary, we will strike a third time as well,” he said, according to Middle East Eye.
Israel launched a sneak attack on Iran in June 2025 under the cover of negotiations that were ongoing between Washington and Tehran. President Trump assisted in keeping Iran off guard, as he said in a post on Truth Social hours before the first missiles hit, that he was “committed” to diplomacy with Tehran. The current war also began as the US and Iran were engaged in negotiations and started with joint US-Israeli strikes.
Earlier this week, Katz said Iran’s new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, was “marked for death.” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi responded to Katz’s threat on Wednesday, saying that the US had committed to “muzzling” Israel under the MoU.
“The terms of the Islamabad MoU are crystal clear and public for all to see,” Araghchi wrote on X. “POTUS has committed the U.S. to muzzling its pets in Tel Aviv. If they ignore their master, Iran will school them. Any threat against our People and Leadership will receive Immediate Powerful Response.”
The MoU states that the US, Iran, and their allies in the conflict must “refrain from the threat or use of force against each other.”
Katz also said at the ceremony that the IDF will remain in Lebanon, Gaza, and Syria for an “unlimited period of time,” which is not compatible with the MoU as it calls for a complete halt to the Israeli war in Lebanon and commits the US to “ensuring the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Lebanon.”
