Israel says Iran mission not complete, warns Hezbollah

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Sunday that Israel's mission against Iran was not complete and warned Hezbollah not to join any renewed attack on Israel.

Katz accused Iran of trying to renew efforts to obtain nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran denies. “With regard to Iran, the mission is still not complete,” he said at a ceremony for Israeli troops who died in a 1956 attack on Egypt.

Katz also said Israel would not withdraw from security zones in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria. He warned that if Hezbollah “chooses to join Iran in an attack on Israel”, it would suffer severe blows.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly threatened new strikes against Iran in recent weeks. It remains unclear whether he has the support of US President Donald Trump for any such action.

Israel's Channel 12 reported on Friday that Netanyahu and the Mossad intelligence service tried to carry out an operation against Iran before Israel's October 27 election, but that the United States found out and stopped it.

Netanyahu lost ground in the October 27 election, and rival Gadi Eisenkot has been tasked with forming a new government. Eisenkot has warned Israel's military that Netanyahu has no mandate and that it should not go to war for his political needs, while broadly supporting Netanyahu's previous war decisions.