WhatsappIsrael is closely monitoring signs that Iran is rebuilding — and potentially expanding — its ballistic missile production, Defense Minister Israel Katz said Tuesday, signaling that Jerusalem is prepared to act if Tehran crosses red lines.
Speaking at a pilots’ graduation ceremony, Katz addressed growing concerns within Israel’s defense establishment following intelligence reports that Iran has accelerated efforts to restore missile manufacturing capabilities damaged earlier this year.
“I read the reports about Iran, which we struck severely, together with our American partners, during Operation Rising Lion,” Katz said, referring to the 12-day conflict in June that saw coordinated Israeli and U.S. strikes against Iranian military infrastructure.
While declining to provide operational details, Katz stressed that Israel is tracking developments closely. “The defense establishment is closely monitoring developments, and naturally, I cannot elaborate beyond that,” he said.
Katz underscored that Israel’s strategic posture toward Iran has fundamentally changed since the October 7 Hamas attack, which reshaped Israel’s regional security doctrine.
“But on one principle there is no dispute,” he added. “What was before October 7 will not be again. We will not allow threats of annihilation against the State of Israel.”
Israeli officials have repeatedly warned that Iran’s ballistic missile program — a core component of its regional power projection — poses an existential threat. The June strikes were widely seen as an attempt to degrade Iran’s long-range strike capacity and send a deterrent message to Tehran and its proxies.
Defense analysts say Katz’s remarks suggest Israel believes Iran is testing the boundaries of that deterrence by quietly rebuilding production lines, potentially with hardened facilities or dispersed manufacturing designed to survive future strikes.
The comments also reinforce Israel’s close coordination with Washington on Iran, at a time when Jerusalem has made clear it will not return to a pre-October 7 reality of containment and restraint.
For Tehran, Katz’s message was blunt: rebuilding is being watched — and Israel’s patience is limited.
