Israeli opposition calls to avenge Iran-backed attack on PM home
After Israeli strikes across Iran at the weekend, opposition figures are calling for further action against Iran, saying they did not go far enough.
After Israeli strikes across Iran at the weekend, opposition figures are calling for further action against Iran, saying they did not go far enough.
On Sunday night, members of parliament raised the idea of a further attack, saying that the weekend’s retaliation for this month’s ballistic missile barrage by Tehran failed to avenge the drone attack that targeted long-time Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s home in Caesarea earlier this month.
A government source told Iran International, “There is a feeling that the attacks this weekend weren’t enough to also avenge the attack on the Prime Minister’s home.”
While the parliament does not have the power to decide on military strategy, reserved for the war cabinet, it has become a political opportunity for Netanyahu’s rivals such as former Prime Minister Yair Lapid, to portray him as weak while the country battles Iran’s proxies across the country’s borders.
“It’s a political, not a strategic discussion,” the source added, stressing that it was not necessarily reflective of the military leaders’ policy.
Israel's Channel 13 said the security cabinet discussed the topic for "long hours," reporting that the weekend's strikes were not intended to avenge the attack on the PM's home, launched by Iran's largest militia, Hezbollah, in Lebanon. It said "another response is expected".
Since the Iran-backed Hamas attack on Israel last year, the country’s opposition parties have called for Netanyahu to resign, with protests across the country blaming him for the war and the failure to find a resolution to release the 101 hostages still held in Gaza.
On Sunday, following the hours-long attacks on Iran, centrist Lapid, the head of the Yesh Atid party, congratulated the Air Force but said it was not hard enough, with the targets tempered by intervention by the US, which has played a critical role in preventing an all-out war between the two nations.
In spite of the damage the strikes have done to Iran’s air defenses, Lapid wrote on X: “The decision not to attack strategic and economic targets in Iran was wrong. We could and should charge Iran a much heavier price.”
The head of centre-right party Yisrael Beitenu, Avigdor Lieberman, said the Jewish state must expect a harsh response for the weekend's operation, and in turn, act with strength to deter Israel’s archenemy.
“They [Iran] will continue their efforts to obtain nuclear weapons and they will continue to transfer the funds from the sale of oil and gas to Hezbollah, the Houthis, the Shiite militias and various proxies,” he wrote on X.
“Unfortunately, it seems that instead of collecting a real price, the Israeli government is once again content with showmanship and public relations. Buying silence instead of a clear decision. The time has come to act in a way that will reflect our strength and not just talk about it.”
Foad Izadi, a hardline commentator often featured on Iranian state TV as an expert on the United States, stated in an interview with the conservative Nameh News website: “Attacks will not stop unless the United States realizes that strikes on Iran could be costly.”
Izadi added, “It is up to us to decide how we want to confront [Israel and the United States].” He continued, “The Americans, as Iran’s staunch adversaries, operate without ethical limitations. But if they sense that Israel’s attacks on Iran will come at a high cost to the US, these strikes will cease.”
Speaking a day after Israel’s strikes on military targets across Iran—from the capital Tehran to Shiraz in the south, Ahvaz, Mahshahr, and Ilam in the southwest, and Shahroud in the northeast, among other locations—Izadi remarked, “Whatever was done, Israel and the United States did it together, though the United States has declined to take responsibility for the attacks.”
He argued that if the United States did not want an escalation, it could refrain from sending weapons and equipment to Israel. He said, "no one should believe Washington's claims about trying to stop the war in the region."
Meanwhile, Hossein Shariatmadari, editor of the hardline *Kayhan* daily, closely linked to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s office, wrote a pointed commentary after the Israeli strikes, warning, "We saw how you rained [missiles] on us. Now prepare for our flood."
Shariatmadari underscored what he called “undeniable evidence” proving that it is, in fact, the United States standing as Iran’s true adversary. He issued a stark warning to "Israel and its American, European, and regional supporters," promising that Iran’s response would be “far heavier and more severe than they can imagine."
In his commentary, Shariatmadari labeled Israel as “a mere front for the United States” and described it as "the U.S. garrison in the region." Further implicating Washington, he speculated, "Do you really think the fighter jets that launched missile attacks on Iran Saturday morning weren’t American-made? Or that their pilots weren’t American?"
Shariatmadari concluded by asserting that in any response to Israel, Iran would treat U.S. interests, assets, and military personnel as legitimate targets.
In a separate development, Majles Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf vowed that "Iran will certainly respond to the Zionist regime’s aggression." Meanwhile, Khamenei’s senior political adviser, Ali Akbar Velayati, dismissed Israel’s attack as “much ado about nothing,” asserting that Iran has never initiated a war, is a recognized international power, and that Israel is too insignificant to challenge it.
However, Iranian journalist Amir Soltanzadeh countered Velayati's claims, noting that it was Iran who first initiated hostilities with Israel and that Iran’s isolation prevents it from claiming true international power status.
However, long-time establishment insider Mohammad Javad Larijani acknowledged, "This is not a small matter. Our country has been invaded. Although it was a cowardly attack, it remains an act of aggression against Iran."
Although military commanders seem to have been restricted from commenting on the incident, the IRGC-affiliated daily Javan downplayed the strikes’ significance, claiming that Iran’s anti-aircraft defenses largely thwarted the attack. Like most other Iranian media, Javan characterized the strike as “weak and limited,” adding that “Iran reserves the right to respond”—a measure that would likely be welcomed by those on both sides seeking to test Israel’s new THAAD air defense system.
In one of the rare comments from Iranian military experts, Amir Mousavi claimed that Iran had foreknowledge of the attack by hacking Israeli military documents, disputing reports that other countries had informed Iran. This contrasts with international media reports and statements from the Dutch Foreign Ministry and Russian officials, who reportedly notified Iran about the attack approximately four hours before it occurred.
The government-owned Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) labeled the attack as "The big folly of a small regime," warning that Israel and its allies would face repercussions for this "limited" strike.
The security council meeting, called upon by Iran, was held after Israel’s weekend retaliatory strikes on Iranian soil, which targeted several missile and drone factories as well as Iran’s air defense systems, according to American and Israeli officials.
“Should it [Iran] choose to undertake further aggressive acts towards Israel or US personnel in the region, there will be severe consequences,” said ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield.
She said the Iranian envoy called the security council meeting to gaslight and act like the victim.
The US Ambassador told the Security Council meeting on the Middle East situation that the US will not allow the future of the region to be dictated by Iran and its proxies.
“Stop pouring gasoline on the fire of the regional conflict,” the American envoy said, addressing the Islamic Republic.
The US stood by Israel and said the nation was acting in self-defense, whereas the British representative asked Iran not to respond and said both sides need to show restraint.
Amir Saeed Iravani, Iran’s UN envoy, accused the US of being complicit in Israel’s airstrikes and said it would bear the consequences. The US envoy, however, denied any involvement in Israel’s strike against Iran.
"The US government is complicit in Israeli aggression and will bear its consequences,” Iravani said.
He added that Israel breached international law and took aim at the US, noting that Washington had double standards when it came to Israel.
Israel’s UN envoy, Danny Danon, said he was giving Iran a last warning.
"Israel has shown restraint, but from now on you will only see strength. Any further aggression will be met with powerful and swift action."
Ambassador Danon demanded from the Security Council accountability and action.
"We demand immediate and paralyzing sanctions against Iran's military and economic infrastructure, designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as the terrorist organization it is and take all necessary measures to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear state."
Danon referred to Iran’s government as the puppet master behind attacks against Israel and promised that any response by Iran would be met with strength.