JERUSALEM — Israel’s defense minister warned Wednesday that the country is prepared to respond forcefully if Iran turns its renewed regional attacks toward Israel, as Tehran fired missiles and drones at U.S. military positions across several Middle Eastern countries. Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israel’s military was maintaining both defensive and offensive readiness amid the heaviest exchange of fire between Iran and the United States in weeks. “For now, they are striking throughout the region except us,” Katz told a conference hosted by Israeli news outlet Ynet and the newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth.
Katz said Israeli officials were particularly alert ahead of the Jewish high holiday period, which begins this month with Rosh Hashanah on the evening of Sept. 11. He said Israel was prepared for the possibility that Tehran could choose that period for an attack. If Iran strikes Israel, Katz said the country would “respond with great force” regardless of actions taken by other governments, adding that Israeli combat aircraft were prepared for immediate operations. Israel has extensive air-defense systems designed to intercept missiles and drones, but previous Iranian attacks have demonstrated that large barrages can still pose significant risks to civilian areas and infrastructure.
The warning came after Iran launched attacks against U.S. military facilities or positions in Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said its strikes were retaliation for renewed U.S. attacks on Iranian military targets. Jordan said its defenses intercepted 10 of 13 Iranian ballistic missiles that entered its airspace, while Bahrain and Kuwait also reported confronting Iranian drones or missiles. A drone strike caused a fire at a residential complex in Kuwait, though authorities said no one was injured. U.S. officials initially reported no American casualties from attacks in Jordan.
The latest escalation follows U.S. strikes along Iran’s southern coast targeting Revolutionary Guard radar, missile and maritime facilities. Iranian authorities said American strikes also killed civilians, including people attending a wedding near Kuhestak in southern Iran. Washington has said civilians are not deliberately targeted. President Donald Trump has warned Tehran against further retaliation, while Iranian military officials have said they will continue responding to attacks on Iranian territory. The renewed fighting has also pushed oil prices higher because of concerns about shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow Persian Gulf passage that normally carries about one-fifth of the world’s oil supply.
The confrontation has roots in the war that began Feb. 28, when Israel and the United States launched large-scale attacks on Iran targeting its nuclear program, ballistic missile forces and military leadership. Iran’s longtime supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed during the opening attacks, a development that transformed Iran’s political leadership and intensified retaliation across the region. Iran subsequently fired missiles and drones at Israel, U.S. bases and neighboring states and sharply restricted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. A ceasefire beginning in early April temporarily reduced direct fighting, but intermittent attacks and failed negotiations have prevented a lasting settlement.
Israel has largely avoided joining the latest direct U.S.-Iran exchanges, but Katz’s remarks underline how quickly that could change if Tehran again targets Israeli territory. Another direct Israel-Iran confrontation could widen a conflict already involving American forces, Gulf states and Iran-aligned groups including Hezbollah in Lebanon, while threatening energy supplies and commercial shipping far beyond the Middle East. With U.S. and Iranian attacks intensifying and Israel placing its forces on heightened readiness, governments across the region face renewed pressure to prevent another cycle of retaliation from developing into a broader war.
