Iran renewing nuclear weapons efforts, Israeli defense minister warns

Calling for national unity, Israel’s defense minister warned that Iran is moving to resume its efforts to build nuclear weapons.

By World Israel News Staff

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Sunday that Iran was attempting to revive its nuclear weapons program and pursuing additional activities threatening Israel’s security, declaring that the Jewish state’s confrontation with Tehran remained unfinished.

Speaking at a state memorial ceremony for fallen soldiers of the 1956 Sinai Campaign at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, Katz called for national unity in the face of continuing military threats, a day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged his political opponents to join a broad coalition government.

“The mission against Iran has not yet been completed,” Katz declared.

“Iran is seeking to renew its efforts to obtain nuclear weapons, alongside other serious efforts that pose a real danger to the State of Israel,” he continued. “We cannot accept these threats.”

The defense minister stressed that Israel must maintain its military readiness and retain the ability to respond to emerging threats.

“It is our duty to be prepared for every scenario and to act as necessary to protect Israeli citizens,” he said.

Katz also warned Hezbollah against joining Iran in any future military confrontation, pledging that Israel would maintain its security positions in neighboring territories.

“We will not withdraw from the security zones in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria,” Katz said, warning that Hezbollah would suffer severe blows if it participated in an Iranian attack on Israel.

The defense minister’s remarks came amid renewed indications that Iran was attempting to rebuild its military capabilities following the US-Israeli war earlier this year.

On Saturday, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced that Tehran had lifted its longstanding, self-imposed restrictions on ballistic missile ranges, potentially paving the way for weapons capable of reaching targets beyond the Middle East.

Israeli and American officials have also expressed concern that Iran could seek to reconstitute elements of its nuclear program following the strikes against its military and nuclear infrastructure.

Katz did not provide specific intelligence supporting his latest assessment of Iran’s nuclear activities or indicate whether Israel was preparing further military action.

Turning to Israel’s domestic political situation, Katz urged the country’s political leadership to overcome its divisions, arguing that national solidarity was essential to confronting the challenges ahead.

“This is a time for unity, responsibility and mutual solidarity,” he said.

“We have one country, one army and a shared destiny,” Katz added, emphasizing the importance of public support for Israeli soldiers and commanders.

He maintained that Israel’s adversaries must understand that internal political disagreements would not prevent Israelis from uniting against external threats.

Katz’s appeal followed Netanyahu’s announcement Saturday that he was seeking a national unity government following the October 27 Knesset elections, which deprived his outgoing religious-nationalist coalition of its parliamentary majority.

Netanyahu warned that an alternative government supported by Arab parties would jeopardize Israel’s national security, particularly its ability to confront Hamas and Iran.

“With a government like that, Israel simply won’t survive,” Netanyahu said in a recorded statement.

“Therefore, there is only one choice: not national suicide, but national unity.”

The prime minister called on all parties belonging to the national camp and Zionist political factions to join a coalition, insisting that such a government would be better positioned to eliminate the Iranian nuclear threat and protect Israel’s security.

His proposal would also retain his existing coalition partners, a condition opposed by several parties seeking to replace him.

Gadi Eisenkot, chairman of the Yashar party and Netanyahu’s principal rival, was selected by President Isaac Herzog to receive the first opportunity to form a government after the election.

Netanyahu’s bloc secured 53 seats in the 120-member Knesset, while Eisenkot’s four-party alliance won 48. The two Arab-majority parties, Ra’am and the Joint List, won a combined 19 seats, leaving them potentially decisive in efforts to form a new parliamentary majority.

Eisenkot has ruled out serving under Netanyahu and established conditions for potential coalition partners, including recognition of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, support for universal military or national service, and recognition of Hamas as a terrorist organization whose military and governing capabilities must be dismantled.

Responding to Netanyahu’s appeal, Yashar accused the outgoing prime minister of invoking national unity only after losing his parliamentary majority.

The party said Likud could join an Eisenkot-led coalition if it abandoned its alliance with extremist political factions and accepted Yashar’s governing principles.

Katz delivered his warning during a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the 1956 Sinai Campaign, also known as Operation Kadesh, in which Israeli forces fought Egyptian troops in the Sinai Peninsula.

The defense minister, himself a former paratrooper, paid tribute to the 180 Israeli soldiers killed during the campaign and recalled the operation’s historic airborne assault near the Mitla Pass.

IranIran nuclear threatIsrael Katz