Defense Minister Naftali Bennett warned Iran that Israel will make sure to exact a heavy price over its meddling in the region, vowing to go beyond Tehran's proxies.
Speaking at a memorial in northern Israel, Bennett said that Israel's northern border was still a source of concern despite the relative calm. "We must not be confused, and the Israel Defense Forces is ready for any scenario," Bennett said.
"When the octopus tentacles hit you, you must fight back not just against the tentacles, but also make sure to suffocate the head of the octopus, and the same applies to Iran. For years on end, we have fought against the Iranian tentacles in Lebanon, Syria, and the Gaza Strip, but we have not focused enough on weakening Iran itself. Now we are changing the paradigm, we are now engaged in a continued effort to weaken the Iranian octopus through economic, diplomatic and intelligence measures, as well as with military means and various other approaches."
Bennett concluded with a warning to the ayatollah regime: "You have no business being in Syria, and so long as you continue to build terrorist bases there, we will continue to hurt you even further."
He said that Israel was not going to stop targeting Iran, "and Iran must not make the mistake of thinking otherwise." He vowed to "continue denying Iran a foothold on our northern border" and said Israel "was making sure to constantly exact a price until we reach the final outcome: driving Iran out of Syria."
