IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir told a group of graduating Israeli pilots on Thursday that the war with Iran is “not over” and to expect “major operations” against the Islamic Republic.
“On the drawing board are new plans. Major operations are still expected to lie ahead of us. Be prepared,” Zamir said, according to The Times of Israel.
Zamir’s comments come after the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the US and Iran to end the conflict collapsed, and the two sides are again trading strikes. While there’s no sign yet that Israel has joined in, Iran could potentially target the bases in Israel from which US military aircraft are operating.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz spoke at the same ceremony as Zamir and said that Israel was ready to strike Iran with “greater force,” something he’s said repeatedly in recent weeks as Israeli officials have made clear they were hoping for the collapse of the MoU.
“The army is ready and on alert for a resumption of fighting, in order to regain air superiority and strike Iran again, to eliminate threats, including a third time if necessary,” Katz 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.”
If Israel does get involved in direct strikes on Iran, it will likely attempt to assassinate senior Iranian officials. The New York Times recently reported that the US was worried Israel would assassinate Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf during negotiations back in April. Katz has also previously threatened to target Mojtaba Khamenei, who replaced his father as supreme leader after the senior Khamenei was killed on February 28, the first day of the joint US-Israeli bombing campaign.
