Israel threatens to do to Tehran what it 'did to Hezbollah in Beirut and Hamas in Gaza'

Israel threatened Iranian leaders like never before on Thursday, stating it is ready to subject them to what it 'did to Hezbollah in Beirut and Hamas in Gaza,' four days after a missile fired from Yemen hit Tel Aviv, for which the Israeli state holds Tehran responsible.

'I warn (...) the Iranian leaders who finance, arm, and exploit the (Yemeni rebel) Houthi terrorist organization: the system of (your) proxies is over and the axis of evil has collapsed,' said Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz in a statement. 'You are directly responsible. What we have done to Hezbollah in Beirut, Hamas in Gaza, (the former Syrian leader Bashar al-) Assad in Damascus, we will do to you also in Tehran,' he added.

Four days earlier, a missile fired by the Yemeni Houthi rebels, allies of the Islamic Republic, bypassed Israeli defense systems and hit the perimeter of Tel Aviv's Ben-Gurion International Airport — a first. The attack, which caused a few injuries and little material damage, led to a brief airport closure. Since then, most foreign airlines serving Tel Aviv have suspended their flights.

'Israel must be able to defend itself by its own means against any threat and any enemy. This has been true in the face of many challenges in the past and it will also be true in the future,' Katz said.

Iranian nuclear

According to him, Israel 'will not allow any entity to harm (us)': 'Anyone who attacks us will be severely struck.' These threats also come as Donald Trump's United States and Iran have engaged in direct dialogue on the Iranian nuclear issue, seen in a very negative light by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has made the Iranian threat his main agenda for the past two decades. Israel has been concerned about the progress of the Iranian nuclear program since Trump withdrew the United States in 2018 from the international agreement meant to curb it. Its leaders regularly repeat that they will not allow the Islamic Republic, which they see as an existential threat, to acquire nuclear weapons.

Tensions between Israel and Iran reached a boiling point in 2024 when Tehran attacked the Israeli state twice directly, targeting it with several hundred missiles or drones. Iran argued that these attacks, largely thwarted by Israel with the help of Arab and Western countries, were a legitimate response to an attack on its consulate in Damascus attributed to Israel and the assassination claimed by the latter, in Tehran, of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, and the elimination of Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah's leader — another ally of Iran — in an Israeli strike in Beirut.

'Changing the Middle East'

Katz's threats also come two days after Oman announced a cease-fire agreement between the Houthis and Washington, to which Israel has not yet officially responded.

Since the war triggered by Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, the Houthis, claiming to act in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, have claimed dozens of missile and drone attacks on Israel. They have also attacked ships they consider linked to Israel off the coast of Yemen, particularly in the Red Sea, through which about 12% of global trade passes, before expanding their campaign targeting ships linked to the United States and the UK in response to the bombings launched since January 2024 by these two countries in Yemen.

The Houthis have stated that the cease-fire with Washington does not concern Israel and that they will continue to fire missiles at this country as long as the war in Gaza continues, where the Israeli army is preparing to launch a new large-scale offensive.

Since the October 7 attack, Israel feels more than ever threatened from all sides, and Netanyahu repeats that the country is fighting for its survival. On Oct. 9, 2023, the head of government had announced that the Israeli response would not be limited to the Gaza Strip but that it was nothing less than 'changing the Middle East' to guarantee the security of his country.