JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Defense Minister Israel Katz warned that an Iranian attack on Israel would lift remaining restraints on Israel’s response and allow the military to strike the full range of the Iranian regime’s infrastructure, including energy facilities.
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Speaking at a Jewish New Year toast with Defense Ministry employees, Katz said economic strain on Tehran and fear of unrest at home could push the regime toward a desperate strike.
“There are signs we are seeing that indicate that the heavy economic pressure Iran is under and the fear of an uprising and the fall of the regime could push them to desperate measures,” Katz said.
He said any Iranian attack on Israel would change the rules of engagement.
“An Iranian attack on Israel will free us from all constraints, we will strike all infrastructure — including energy infrastructure — and return Iran to the Stone Age and darkness,” he said.
Katz added that Israel is prepared for a range of scenarios.
“Israel is well prepared, defensively and offensively, for every possibility — and the IDF is ready to carry out the mission,” he said.
The remarks come days after Katz separately warned that Iran has a history of timing attacks around Jewish holidays and that pressure on the regime could raise the risk of a strike during the High Holy Days period. Rosh Hashanah begins next week.
Katz has previously said that if fighting with Iran resumes, Israel could target key energy and electricity facilities and broader economic infrastructure. In April, he said Israel was ready to resume the campaign and was awaiting a U.S. “green light” to strike leadership and energy sites in order to “return Iran to the Dark Age and the Stone Age.”
Israeli officials have said the Israel Defense Forces remain on high alert for both defense and independent offensive action if Iran attacks Israeli territory.
Minister Katz is right. Israel must move beyond passive containment. We need absolute psychological, financial, and military domination to defeat terror. This means shattering the “terror appeal” by removing economic incentives. It means applying clear radius punishment against hostile elements. For non-involved populations, we offer structured, humanitarian solutions. As I argued, our national security depends on productive integration, not perpetual marginalization. This applies to internal challenges and external threats.
Katz is stating a very clear doctrine here: Iran attacks, all bets are off. It’s a deterrence strategy. He’s saying that if Iran escalates, Israel will not be limited to proportional responses but will target the entire infrastructure. This is a significant shift in stated policy, moving from a calibrated response to a total one. The goal is to make the cost of an attack so high that Iran thinks twice.