Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had a nine-word chilling message to Iran after it launched an unprecedented attack on the holy land over the weekend.
“Israel will do whatever it needs to defend itself,” Netanyahu warned the terrorist-backed country.
As foreign leaders urged Israel to stand down and refrain from retaliating against Iran, Netanyahu insisted that Israel would make its own decisions and do whatever is necessary to protect itself.
“They have all sorts of suggestions and advice. I appreciate that. But I want to be clear: Our decisions we will make ourselves,” Netanyahu said-- referring to comments from British Foreign Secretary David Cameron and Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock where the leaders discussed alternative options Israel can take rather than a direct attack on Iran.
Baerbock claimed that further escalation "would serve no one, not Israel's security, not the many dozens of hostages still in the hands of Hamas, not the suffering population of Gaza, not the many people in Iran who are themselves suffering under the regime, and not the third countries in the region who simply want to live in peace.”
However, despite strong opposition to Netanyahu’s plan to strike Iran, Baerbock stressed that Germany will remain united with Israel, giving the country its full support.
“Iran and its proxies such as Hezbollah or the Houthis must not be allowed to add fuel to the fire,” she continued.
In similar comments, Cameron told Israeli reporters that it is apparent Israel will retaliate against Tehran, but encourages Netanyahu to carry it out “in a way that is smart as well as tough and also does as little as possible to escalate this conflict.”
“The real need is to refocus back on Hamas, back on the hostages, back on getting the aid in, back on getting a pause in the conflict in Gaza,” Cameron added.
Netanyahu’s comments come just hours after Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi threatened to destroy Israel if it continues with even the "tiniest invasion" of Iran, promising a "massive and harsh" response if the country went ahead with a retaliatory attack.
The Israeli military said Iran would not get off “scot-free” after Iran's invasion, stressing that a response is a must. However, the official assured that Israel will be smart about it.
"We cannot stand still from this kind of aggression,” Israel Defense Forces spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari told reporters.
Hagari claimed that Iran was “building a conventional threat, meaning to create a ring of fire across Israel," after about 350 drones and missiles were launched at Israel.