Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement Tuesday evening from a security cabinet meeting in the Kirya, the military headquarters in Tel Aviv, warning: “Iran has made a big mistake tonight, and will pay for it.”
Netanyahu spoke shortly after Iran launched hundreds of missiles at central and southern Israel, almost all of which were intercepted by Israeli and American air defenses. Only a few landed; no Israelis were injured or killed.
He began his remarks by offering condolences to the families of the victims of a terror attack that took place in Jaffa, near Tel Aviv, earlier in the evening, when two gunmen opened fire on commuters, killing six innocent civilians.
He thanked the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for defending the country from the missile attack, and thanked the United States. Then he launched into his warning, vowing that the Iranian regime would learn what his proxies had learned: that Israel is determined to defend itself, and to punish its enemies.
He repeated a warning he delivered at the United Nations General Assembly last Friday — as Israeli warplanes were bombing Hezbollah’s headquarters in Beirut, Lebanon, killing arch-terrorist Hassan Nasrallah: “If you strike us, we will strike you.”
Netanyahu did not specify when, where, or how an Israeli counterattack might happen. Earlier in the evening, IDF Spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari warned that Israel would strike back “in the place and in the time that we determine.”
Update: The Prime Minister’s Office released a transcript of Netanyahu’s remarks:
Citizens of Israel, at the start of my remarks, I send condolences to the families of those who were murdered in the abhorrent terrorist attack in Jaffa and my best wishes for a quick recovery to the wounded.
As in the missile attack, there was also a murderous guiding hand behind this terrorist attack – it came from Tehran.
This evening, Iran again attacked Israel with hundreds of missiles. This attack failed. It was thwarted thanks to Israel’s air defense array, which is the most advanced in the world. I commend the IDF for the impressive achievement. It was also thwarted thanks to your alertness and responsibility, citizens of Israel. I also thank the US for its support in our defensive effort.
This evening, Iran made a big mistake – and it will pay for it. The regime in Tehran does not understand our determination to defend ourselves and to exact a price from our enemies.
Sinwar and Deif did not understand this; neither did Nasrallah or Mohsen. Apparently, there are those in Tehran who do not understand this either.
They will.
We will keep to the rule we have determined: Whoever attacks us – we attack them.
This is true wherever we fight the axis of evil. It is true in Judea and Samaria. It is true in Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen and Syria – and it is also true in Iran. We are fighting the axis of evil everywhere, including in southern Lebanon and Gaza, where our heroic soldiers are active.
Today, more than ever, the forces of light in the world must unite and work together against the ayatollahs’ dark regime, which is the source of terror and evil in our region. They must stand alongside Israel. The choice has never been more clear, between tyranny and freedom, between the blessing and the curse.
On the eve of Rosh Hashanah, I say to you, citizens of Israel: Israel has the momentum and the axis of evil is in retreat. We will do whatever needs to be done to continue this trend. To achieve all of our war objectives, especially the return of all of our hostages, and ensure our existence and our future.
A good and safe year to you all.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
