Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Iran and Hezbollah of proactive attacks, while Tehran spoke of the Jewish state’s annihilation and the region braced for the possibility of a second direct confrontation between the two arch-foes.
“We are prepared both defensively and offensively,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated during a visit Wednesday to the IDF induction base at Tel Hashomer.
“I know that the citizens of Israel are concerned, and I ask one thing of you: Be patient and level-headed,” he said.“We are striking our enemies and are determined to defend ourselves.”
The prime minister spoke with inductees at the base amid a tense week as Israel braced for potential reprisal attacks by Iran and its proxy groups, including Hezbollah, which has already been battling the IDF along the country’s northern border with Lebanon for close to 11 months.
White House Press Secretary Katherine Jean-Pierre told reporters Wednesday that American officials were urging de-escalation and that “is our focus.”
US National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby said, “We’re working really, really hard, with intense diplomacy, to try to avoid an escalation.”
Chief Commander of the Iranian Army Abdolrahim Mousavi did not sound consolatory when he spoke of Israel’s pending destruction on Wednesday.
“The Zionist regime will soon receive a strong and definite response, and there is no doubt about it,” Mousavi reportedly said, according to IRNA and Tasnim. “It is clear that they themselves have realized the speed of their own destruction, and by doing so, they want to save themselves from the quagmire, but they definitely cannot save themselves from annihilation.”
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