Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz said Thursday the country was prepared to relaunch its military campaign against Iran "with even greater force" if needed, as fresh strikes between the United States and Iran raised fears the ceasefire could collapse entirely.
The army is ready and on alert for a resumption of fighting © Mena Today
Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz said Thursday the country was prepared to relaunch its military campaign against Iran "with even greater force" if needed, as fresh strikes between the United States and Iran raised fears the ceasefire could collapse entirely.
"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," Katz said at a military ceremony. "If we have to go back, we will go back, with even greater force," he added.
The remarks came a day after the United States launched new strikes on Iran, and as Tehran struck back at Washington's regional allies, deepening fears of a return to full-scale war.
Speaking at the same ceremony, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran had been weakened by two previous military campaigns Israel launched against it, declaring the "Iranian axis is weaker than ever before, while Israel is stronger than ever before." He acknowledged, however, that the conflict was not yet over.
A Lebanese official denied on Thursday a Reuters report that Beirut had agreed with Israel to a shortlist of countries that could send troops to Lebanon to verify the disarmament of Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, and said it was following up on the issue with Washington.
Israel won't withdraw from southern Lebanon until Hezbollah is disarmed, the defence minister said on Thursday, qualifying remarks he made a day earlier that had suggested Israeli forces would occupy the territory indefinitely and drew U.S. criticism.
The Strait of Hormuz is "under Iran's control and management", the head of Iran's Basij paramilitary unit, Hossein Taeb, said on Thursday, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.
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