Israel-Iran Tensions: Katz's Rosh Hashanah Warning

Katz's speech (Neta Deabch, Ministry of Defense)

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz issued an unusual dual-message statement Thursday ahead of Rosh Hashanah, combining warm holiday greetings to Iran's Jewish community with a stark warning to the country's leadership.

"As we approach Rosh Hashanah, I want to send New Year greetings to the Jewish community in Iran and wish them a good and safe year," Katz began. "You are part of a glorious Jewish history and will always be in our hearts." He extended his wishes beyond the Jewish community, adding: "And to the Iranian people, I wish: next year in a Tehran liberated from oppression and tyranny."

Beyond the holiday wishes, Katz delivered a sharp warning to Iran's government:

"Given the possibility that due to the economic stranglehold and heavy pressure Iran is under, they may decide to act against Israel, I am once again warning the Iranian leadership: Any attack on Israel, for any reason and from any location, will be met with a powerful response, inflicting severe damage on Iran of a kind it has not yet experienced, including its central energy facilities, which provide resources and capabilities to Iran's war and terror apparatus and for harming Israeli citizens. "Such a blow would set Iran back decades and further destabilize the ayatollahs' regime, which the Iranian people so despise and long to see fall."

The Defense Minister emphasized that "in accordance with the Prime Minister's directive and my instructions, the IDF is alert and ready to carry out the mission."

The warning comes amid rising regional tensions. Israeli security officials assess that heavy American economic pressure on Tehran could push Iranian leaders toward aggressive actions. The IDF has increased its alert level given the escalation between the United States and Iran, concerned that an exchange of blows between those parties could develop into broader conflict and lead to attacks on Israel as well.

Katz concluded his statement with a blessing for the Jewish people: "And to the Jewish people in Israel and around the world, I wish a good year, and may our enemies, our haters, and all who seek our harm be removed."