Israel warns it will bomb Iran’s energy sector if Tehran resumes attacks

Israeli defense chief issues warning to Iran, threatening to hit the country’s energy sector if the Islamic Republic strikes Israel.

By World Israel News Staff

Defense Minister Israel Katz issued a renewed warning to Tehran on Thursday that an Iranian strike on Israel could trigger a major Israeli offensive against critical infrastructure inside the Islamic Republic, including facilities that finance and sustain Iran’s military operations.

The warning comes as Iran has sharply escalated attacks on American forces and shipping across the region while largely avoiding direct strikes on Israel.

“Any attack on Israel, for any reason and in any place, will be met with a powerful response,” Katz said in a video statement.

Katz said Israeli officials believe the increasingly severe economic pressure on Tehran could push the Iranian leadership toward more extreme actions, including potentially expanding its attacks to Israel.

He warned that an Israeli retaliation would inflict damage on a scale Iran had not previously experienced and specifically identified the country’s major energy facilities as potential targets.

Those facilities, Katz argued, provide Tehran with both revenue and resources used to finance its military and support attacks against Israel.

The comments continue a series of increasingly explicit Israeli warnings issued over the past week as fighting between Iran and the United States intensifies.

Katz said last Thursday that an Iranian attack would leave Israel “free from all constraints” in determining the scope of its response.

“We will strike all infrastructure — including energy infrastructure — and return Iran to the Stone Age and darkness,” he said at the time.

A day earlier, Katz said Israel had prepared defensive measures against a possible Iranian attack over the Jewish High Holidays and would respond independently if necessary.

“Our planes are ready to take off,” he said.

Iran has instead concentrated much of its recent fire on American forces and US allies in the Gulf and Jordan.

On Tuesday, Tehran launched 20 ballistic missiles toward a US military installation in Jordan after American forces destroyed five Iranian oil tankers. Jordan said its air defenses intercepted 18 of the incoming missiles.

The attack reportedly caused minor damage to several US F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jets and more serious damage to an A-10 Thunderbolt aircraft at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, although no American personnel were reported killed.

Iranian forces have also attempted to strike US Navy vessels in and around the Strait of Hormuz and claimed attacks on commercial tankers operating in the region.

Washington has responded by intensifying attacks on Iranian military and economic assets, particularly Tehran’s ability to export oil.

The growing pressure on Iran’s energy sector is central to Katz’s assessment that the regime could resort to increasingly aggressive action.

Iran depends heavily on petroleum exports for foreign currency and government revenue, while the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and other state institutions have extensive interests throughout the energy economy.

A US-led effort to restrict Iranian exports has sharply reduced Tehran’s ability to move oil abroad in recent months, while renewed military operations against tankers have placed additional pressure on the country’s remaining export network.

Iran has nevertheless continued firing missiles and has publicly insisted that its weapons stockpiles and production capacity remain intact.

The confrontation has also moved increasingly close to Israel geographically. Iranian ballistic missiles fired at Jordan this week were visible from Israel, underscoring the possibility that Tehran could redirect future launches toward Israeli territory.

Israel and Iran have already fought two major rounds of direct combat during the broader conflict, and Israeli officials say those operations inflicted extensive damage on Iran’s nuclear program, air defenses, missile infrastructure and senior leadership.

Katz has argued that those earlier strikes help explain Tehran’s reluctance to resume direct attacks against Israel.

The latest Israeli warning came only hours after President Donald Trump separately threatened further American action against Iran over activity at the heavily fortified Pickaxe Mountain complex near Natanz.

“We notice there’s a little activity at Pickaxe. I would advise Iran not to get cute,” Trump said.

Pickaxe Mountain contains deeply buried tunnel complexes near the Natanz nuclear site and has remained a focus of US and Israeli concern over the possibility that Iran could use it to rebuild nuclear capabilities damaged during previous strikes.

The International Atomic Energy Agency’s Board of Governors also voted this week to refer Iran to the UN Security Council over unresolved safeguards issues, the first such referral in two decades.

IranIran warIsrael Katz