IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi at Ramon Airbase in southern Israel, October 29, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi has warned Iran not to launch further attacks against Israel.
Speaking to aircrews at Ramon Air Base in southern Israel on October 29, Halevi said that if Iran “makes the mistake and launches another barrage of missiles at Israel, we will once again know how to reach Iran.”
The warning came after a series of Israeli strikes hit Iranian military targets, including air defenses and missile sites, on October 26. The strikes were themselves a response to a large-scale ballistic missile attack launched by Tehran against Israel on October 1.
The IDF chief warned that Israel would “reach Iran, with capabilities that we did not even use this time, and hit extremely hard both the capabilities and the places that we spared this time.”
He went on to say that the reason Israel held back when it struck Iranian missile factories and other sites on Saturday was because “we may be required to do it again.”
“We didn’t finish this event, we are right in the middle of it,” he added.
Israel used a secretive air-launched two-stage ballistic missile in the strikes on Iran. It is unclear what other long-range strike capabilities the IDF is still hiding.
Following the strikes, which claimed the lives of four officers, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that Iranian officials should determine how best to demonstrate Iran’s power to Israel, noting that the Israeli attack should “neither be downplayed nor exaggerated”.
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps chief Hossein Salami also said that Israel had “failed to achieve its ominous goals” but nevertheless said that the “bitter consequences will be unimaginable” for Israel.
In addition, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghei warned that Tehran would use “all available tools” to respond.
An Iranian response to the Israeli strikes could lead to a serious escalation and even an all-out war in the Middle East. At the same time, Israel could escalate even further against Iran and its allies if Tehran chose not to respond, as it would see this as a sign of weakness.
Hebrew media has already reported preparations for another attack against Iran under the pretext of responding to a Hezbollah drone attack that targeted the private residence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in central Israel on October 19. Israel held Tehran responsible for the assassination attempt.
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