Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has renewed his threat to strike Iranian energy facilities if Tehran launches an attack against Israel.
“Given the possibility that Iran may decide to take action against Israel, I repeat my warning to the Iranian leadership,” said Katz on Thursday.
“Any attack on Israel, for any reason and from any location, will be met with a strong response.”
“This includes strikes against vital energy facilities,” Katz said.
He added that “in accordance with the instructions of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and my own instructions, the military is prepared to carry out this mission.”
Katz made the threat in a recorded video, a week after issuing a similar warning to Iran.
Last week, Katz said Iran was facing “severe and suffocating economic pressure” from the US.
Washington has imposed economic pressure on Tehran, while the two sides have exchanged attacks amid a deadlock in negotiations about disputes, including navigation through the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a key route for energy and commodities.
On February 28, the US and Israel launched a war against Iran that has killed more than 3,000 people, according to Tehran. Iran responded with attacks targeting US assets across the region.
Washington and Tehran signed a memorandum of understanding in June, with Pakistani and Qatari mediation, providing for a halt to military operations and arrangements to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to navigation.
Implementation of the agreement later stalled amid disagreements over mutual commitments and navigation through the strait before hostilities resumed in July.
Israel, which occupies Palestinian territories as well as parts of Lebanon and Syria, is the only country in the region believed to possess a nuclear arsenal.
It has neither acknowledged nor denied possessing nuclear weapons, and its nuclear facilities are not subject to International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards.
