Netanyahu hints that Tehran's nuclear program could be the next target as Iran plans future attacks

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signaled on Thursday that Iran's nuclear program could be Jerusalem's next line of attack, as Tehran vows to return fire after last week's airstrikes.

“The ultimate goal that I have set for the IDF and the security services is to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons,” Netanyahu said during a speech at a graduation ceremony for Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers ). “Stopping the nuclear program was and is our main concern.”

“I have not lost sight of this goal, we have not and we will not lose sight of it,” he added.

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at the graduation ceremony of the IDF Officers' Course at an IDF training base. (Ma'ayan Toaf, Israeli Government Press Office)

The prime minister's comments were in response to an apparent threat from Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who said in a post on X on Sunday: “Zionists are making a miscalculation regarding Iran. You don’t know Iran.”

“They are still unable to fully understand the power, initiative and determination of the Iranian people. We have to make them understand these things,” Khamenei added.

Netanyahu's suggestion that Israel could target Iranian nuclear facilities next is consistent with other comments from the IDF, which vowed to expand its strike “capabilities” and target list should Iran launch another attack on the Jewish state.

The US – Israel's main ally in the fight against Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran – has repeatedly warned Jerusalem not to attack Iran's energy infrastructure, particularly its nuclear and oil facilities, for fear it could trigger an outright regional war.

Reports this week suggested Iran could wait until after the U.S. presidential election next week, although other reports said Tehran's retaliation could come at any time.

The Foundation for the Defense of Democracies has analyzed where Iran's nuclear infrastructure is located as Israel considers a retaliatory attack. (Image provided by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies)

The repeated exchange of blows between the IDF and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Forces (IRGC) may soon be joined by Iranian-backed groups other than Hamas and Hezbollah, especially after Israel attacked Iranian-backed militant groups in Iraq and Syria last week.

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A report from Axios on Thursday said that Israeli intelligence believes that next time the impending attack on the Jewish state may not come directly from Iran, but from an Iranian-backed militia in Iraq.

“The last thing the Islamic Republic wants is a normalization of attacks on its own territory, although it appears to only be normalizing direct attacks from its own territory against Israel, as well as a whole series of proxy attacks,” said expert Behnam Ben Taleblu, an expert on Iranian-Israeli security issues and senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital.

Iran, which borders Iraq, was reported to have transferred short-range ballistic missiles into the hands of its proxy forces in the neighboring country in 2018.

Iran-backed fighters from Shiite groups celebrate on a street after the IRGC attack on Israel in Basra, Iraq, Oct. 1, 2024. (REUTERS/Essam Al-sudani)

This missile capability, which typically has a firing range of about 600 miles, would allow Iranian-backed forces in western Iraq and neighboring Syria to target specific areas in northern Israel.

Ben Taleblu explained that while Syria borders Israel and would therefore be geographically more suitable for Iranian proxy forces to attack the Jewish state, Syria is a “free fire zone” given the West's difficult relationship with Bashar al-Assad's regime, which has been fighting for decades ISIS in Syria.

“Iran has already seen much of its infrastructure – be it domestic missile production or radars or the IRGC’s command and control in Syria – go up in flames,” Ben Taleblu said.

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The expert further explained that a potential expansion of the fight with Israel into Iraq not only pushes Israel out of its own territory, but could also require an international response given the US's history with Baghdad.

“Given the stronger American presence there, an Israeli attack in Iraq could potentially be more of a political taboo,” the expert said. “(There is) a desire to shield yourself as much as possible while opening as many fronts as possible.”

“Staying in Iraq gives them a little more protection,” Ben Taleblu added.