‘Will respond with a force Iran has never seen’: Netanyahu warns Tehran, says ‘Trump will decide’

Netanyahu warns Tehran against attacking Israel

• Netanyahu warns of unprecedented force if Iran attacks Israel
• US deploys aircraft carrier group near Iran, raising regional tensions
• Israel to focus on disarming Hamas and controlling Gaza after hostage return

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Israel would respond with unprecedented force if Iran were to attack the country, as regional tensions intensified amid US military deployments and escalating rhetoric.

“If Iran makes the grave mistake of attacking Israel, we will respond with a force that Iran has never seen,” Netanyahu said during a televised press conference, according to AFP.

Referring to recent comments by US President Donald Trump, Netanyahu said Israel would make its own decisions independently. “President Trump will decide what he decides; the State of Israel will decide what it decides,” he said, reiterating that any Iranian attack would trigger overwhelming retaliation.

The warning came as the United States deployed an aircraft carrier strike group to the region, prompting sharp reactions from Tehran. Trump told Axios on Monday that the US had “a big armada next to Iran,” while adding that diplomatic talks remained possible.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian criticised what he described as US “threats” during a phone call with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, saying they were destabilising regional security, AFP reported.

Netanyahu also recalled last year’s brief but intense conflict between Israel and Iran, during which Israeli strikes targeted Iranian military installations, killing senior commanders and nuclear scientists.

Iran retaliated with ballistic missile attacks on Israeli cities, before the United States entered the conflict with strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. A ceasefire was later declared.

Separately, Netanyahu said Israel would now focus on disarming Hamas and demilitarising Gaza following the return of the last Israeli hostage from the Palestinian territory. He said no reconstruction work would be permitted in Gaza until those objectives were achieved.

The Israeli leader reiterated his opposition to the creation of a Palestinian state in Gaza, saying Israel would maintain security control over both Gaza and the occupied West Bank, despite growing international recognition of Palestinian statehood.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned neighbouring countries against allowing their territory to be used by the United States to launch attacks on Iran.

“Neighboring countries are our friends, but if their soil, sky, or waters are used against Iran, they will be considered hostile,” Mohammad Akbarzadeh, political deputy of the IRGC naval forces, was quoted as saying by Iran’s Fars news agency.

Iran continues to rely on a network of allied militias across the region to project influence and counter US and Israeli pressure. Several Iran-aligned Iraqi militias, including Kata’ib Hezbollah, have previously vowed to expel US forces from Iraq and have been linked by Washington to attacks on American personnel and facilities.