Israeli National Unity Front leader Benny Gantz on Monday joined Mossad chief David Barnea in calling for direct strikes on Iran in response to the Houthis' attacks against Israel.
"The solution is in Tehran: if you want to stop the Houthis' firing, you have to hit Iran directly," Gantz told a meeting of his faction.
His comments came one day after a Ynet report said the Mossad chief had called for a similar strike on Iran in reaction to ongoing attacks by the Houthis on Israel.
Israel's defense minister on Monday publicly admitted for the first time that the Jewish state assassinated Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31, 2024.
While Israel's role was already widely understood, its disclosure likely signals Israel is less concerned about provoking an Iranian response after the Islamic Republic and its allies in the region have been dealt harsh Israeli military blows in recent weeks.
"These days, when the Houthi terrorist organization is firing missiles at Israel, I want to convey a clear message to them at the beginning of my remarks: We have defeated Hamas, we have defeated Hezbollah, we have blinded Iran's defense systems and damaged the production systems, we have toppled the Assad regime in Syria, we have dealt a severe blow to the axis of evil, and we will also deal a severe blow to the Houthi terrorist organization in Yemen, which remains the last to stand," Israel Katz said during an evening honoring defense ministry personnel.
"We'll severely cripple the Houthis, damage their strategic infrastructure, and we will behead their leaders – just as we did to Haniyeh, Sinwar and Nasrallah in Tehran, Gaza and Lebanon – we will do it in Hodeidah and Sana'a," Katz added.
Haniyeh was a Palestinian politician who served as prime minister of the Palestinian National Authority for over eight years until 2014 and as chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau from May 2017 until his assassination in Tehran.
He had been attending the inauguration of newly elected Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian when he was assassinated. At the time, Hamas said they were convinced Haniyeh was killed, along with one of his bodyguards, by an Israeli airstrike on his residence.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which was responsible for protecting Haniyeh, said in early August that Haniyeh was assassinated with a "short-range projectile with a warhead of approximately 7 kilograms".
"This action was designed and implemented by the Zionist regime and supported by the criminal government of America," the IRGC added.
Western media reports suggested that Haniyeh was killed by explosive devices planted well in advance in his room, possibly by agents recruited by Mossad, Israel's intelligence agency. A report by The Telegraph says the devices were placed in three separate rooms of the guesthouse, pointing to a meticulously planned operation.
The assassination was carried out despite heightened security measures due to the inauguration which took place one day earlier, underscoring a severe breach in Iran's security apparatus.
A report by the New York Times said at the time that over two dozen individuals, including senior intelligence officers, military officials, and staff at the guesthouse, had been detained in connection with the incident.
Haniyeh's assassination was soon followed by a series of Israeli attacks killing other leaders of Iran-backed groups including Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah on September 27 and Haniyeh's successor Yahya Sinwar on October 16.
The Israeli prime minister on Monday vowed to continue targeting anyone who tries to harm the Jewish state, amid growing calls by Israeli officials for more direct strikes on Iran in response to the ongoing attacks on Tel Aviv by Tehran-backed Houthis.
"Israel is consolidating its deterrent power, it is striking at those who seek to harm it, it is collapsing Iran's terror branches one after the other," Benjamin Netanyahu told the Israeli Knesset.
Netanyahu said Tehran was still "busy licking the wounds from the blows we inflicted on them", adding he had instructed the Israeli military in recent days to attack strategic targets of Yemen's armed Houthi group in response to their missile launches at Israel.
"It is neither the first nor the last. We have destroyed significant terrorist assets that the Houthis have used, and the principle we have set is very simple – whoever tries to harm us, we will hit him with uncompromising force," Netanyahu added, according to a translation by the Israeli website Ynet.
The Israeli military and its American allies have launched multiple air raids against the Houthis' positions in recent days, but have failed to stop Houthi attacks on Israel.
The spokesman for the Houthis said the Iran-backed group launched two drone attacks against targets in Israel's Ashkelon and Tel Aviv on Monday.
Some Israeli officials believe their country must directly target the Islamic Republic, which has publicly declared its support for Yemen's Houthis.
"The solution is in Tehran: if you want to stop the Houthis' firing, you have to hit Iran directly," Israeli National Unity Front leader Benny Gantz told a meeting of his faction on Monday.
Mossad chief David Barnea also recommended Israel's political echelon attack Iran instead of Yemen's Houthis, a Ynet report quoted him as saying on Sunday. "We have to go for the head, for Iran," Barnea said in discussions on the issue in recent days.
In October 26 retaliatory strikes again Iran, Israel took out nearly the entirety of Iran’s air defense system, according to Western officials including the UK's Chief of Defense Staff.
In his Monday remarks, Netanyahu stopped short of explicitly discussing further attacks on Iran in response to the Houthis' strikes but vowed to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
"We do not take our eyes off Iran that is threatening to eliminate us, and we are determined to stop Iran from reaching nuclear weapons as well as other weapons that could threaten our cities," he said.
Since May, top Iranian officials including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's adviser, Kamal Kharrazi, have warned that if Iran's nuclear installations are attacked, the Islamic Republic will shift its nuclear doctrine.
So far, Tehran has been insisting that its nuclear program is entirely peaceful, in spite of having exceeded international limits on uranium enrichment and accelerating its nuclear program.
In October, 39 lawmakers called for changing the nuclear doctrine without mentioning an attack on nuclear facilities but citing tensions with Israel.
The calls for the pursuit of nuclear weapons have grown in Iran following the Israeli airstrikes destroying the Islamic Republic's air defense batteries.
Iran's Supreme Leader on Sunday openly opposed Syria's new government, spoke of the need to overthrow it, and announced plans to form a group to combat the Damascus administration.
Since Khamenei explicitly said that he was speaking as the leader of the Islamic Republic and not offering an analysis, his words could signal that hostility toward Syria’s new government is now official policy for the Islamic Republic. This may serve as a directive for the Quds Force, the IRGC’s foreign operations branch.
This speech, Khamenei’s 1,936th during his 35-year tenure, delivered a clear message about the Islamic Republic’s position on Syria's new administration. While many regional nations have expressed hope for peace and stability in Syria, Khamenei underscored the need to oppose the new government, essentially advocating for its overthrow.
"The young Syrian has nothing to lose. His university is unsafe, his school is unsafe, his home is unsafe, his street is unsafe, his life is unsafe. What should he do? He must stand strong and determined against those who designed this insecurity and those who implemented it, and God willing, he will triumph over them," Khamenei said.
Khamenei also denied the existence of proxy groups tied to the Islamic Republic, even though such groups are widely recognized globally as Iran’s proxies. Organizations like Hezbollah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Houthis, and Hashd al-Shaabi have openly acknowledged their dependence on and allegiance to Iran.
Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s leader, who was recently killed in an Israeli strike, repeatedly affirmed that Hezbollah relies entirely on Iran for its financial, military, and logistical support. This dependency is not unique to Hezbollah. Both the Houthis and Hamas have frequently acknowledged receiving financial and military assistance from Iran. Mahmoud al-Zahar, a senior Hamas leader, once disclosed that during a visit to Tehran, Qasem Soleimani personally handed him $22 million in cash, which Hamas representatives transported back to Gaza in suitcases. These statements from the leaders of these groups directly challenge Khamenei’s assertions that these forces operate independently and are not proxies of Iran.
Khamenei further claimed that the Islamic Republic does not need proxies and is capable of acting directly against the US and Israel if necessary. This assertion contradicts his admission just ten days earlier in another speech, where he acknowledged that Iran’s efforts to support Bashar al-Assad were thwarted by Israeli and US air forces.
Not only did Khamenei deny the existence of Iran's proxy forces, but he also refused to acknowledge the evident setbacks faced by Iran and its allied groups in the region. While Israel has destroyed Hamas infrastructure in Gaza, eliminated many of its leaders, including Ismail Haniyeh and Yahya Sinwar, and targeted Hezbollah’s command network, Khamenei continues to claim victory. These statements starkly contrast with the on-the-ground realities. Regional and international analysts widely agree that Iran's regional policies have failed. Israel's military strategy has successfully pushed Hezbollah away from the border, limiting its access to Israeli territory. Despite these setbacks, Khamenei persists in his analyses, insisting that Hezbollah has not been defeated.
Khamenei’s refusal to accept the realities in the region and his continued reliance on flawed analyses stem more from obstinacy than from genuine miscalculation. Rather than acknowledging his mistakes, he attempts to reshape facts to align with his vision. This stubbornness has wasted Iran’s financial and human resources while deepening animosity among regional nations and governments toward Iran.
Moreover, Khamenei not only dismisses external realities but also attempts to silence domestic critics. In his recent speech, he targeted opponents of the Islamic Republic's regional policies, branding them as mercenaries. This follows earlier threats in which he accused dissenting analysts of treason and demanded punitive measures against them. This repressive approach highlights Khamenei's growing concern over the potential domestic fallout from his regional policy failures and their impact on the Islamic Republic’s stability.
Denying failures and silencing critics will not resolve any issues; rather, they will exacerbate internal dissatisfaction and further isolate the Islamic Republic both regionally and globally. This persistent denial and obstinacy have already inflicted significant costs on the Iranian people. Khamenei's insistence on opposing Syria's new government and risks not only deepening regional instability but also fueling anti-Iran sentiment among the Syrian population and neighboring countries.
Iran's vice-president for strategic affairs, Mohammad Javad Zarif, says the Islamic Republic has no control over the so-called "Axis of Resistance", and that the militant groups have never acted upon Tehran's orders.
"The resistance fights for itself, for its own goals and land," Iranian VP Javad Zarif said in an interview on Monday.
"Those who claim that the Islamic Republic has weakened think of the resistance as the arms of the Islamic Republic; they see the resistance as our proxy force," he added. "However, history has proven that the resistance has never acted as Iran's proxy force."
"In the first and second 'True Promise' operations, it was Iran that responded to Israel, not the resistance," Zarif said, referring to Iran's April and October attacks against Israel. "Never has it been the case that Iran gives orders and the resistance acts; this is a false perception that the Zionist regime has propagated worldwide."
His comments came a day after Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei denied that Iran uses proxy forces in the region, asserting that groups like Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis act independently out of their own faith and beliefs, not as agents of the Islamic Republic.
In a meeting with religious eulogizers on Sunday, Khamenei addressed what he described as "absurd statements from Western and Israeli officials," dismissing the notion that Iran’s regional influence is based on the use of proxy forces.
"They constantly say that the Islamic Republic has lost its proxy forces in the region! This is another mistake! The Islamic Republic does not have proxy forces. Yemen fights because of its faith; Hezbollah fights because its faith gives it strength to fight; Hamas and Jihad fight because their beliefs compel them to do so," Khamenei said.
"They do not act as our proxies. If one day we want to take action, we will not need any proxy forces."
Despite Iran's allied militias facing major losses across the region, the IRGC's commander spoke of their victory, while implying that Iran does provide weapons to its armed allies in the Middle East.
Hossein Salami on Monday channeled remarks by the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s comments from the previous day asserting that Iran does not operate a proxy network in the region but rather has ideological allies.
“The enemies aim to burden the Iranian people with events that are far from victories and claim that Iran has lost its regional allies," Salami said.
“Iran has not lost its arms [in the region]—are the sons of Lebanon not still standing? Has Palestine surrendered? We share the same ideals, beliefs, and convictions with the Lebanese and Yemenis.”
Huge swathes of Hezbollah's leadership and military infrastructure, as well as its operatives, have been wiped out since September, including assassinated leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Reiterating a statement made on Sunday by the Supreme Leader, the commander also denied that Iran supported arming the groups, which include the Houthis in Yemen and Shia militias in Syria and Iraq.
"Everyone fights with their own capabilities; no one relies on anyone else. While we provide maximum spiritual and political support to the resistance front, they procure their own weapons just as we do," he said.
Just four days ago, the US issued more sanctions against Iran for what it called "support of proxies", referring to armed groups it deems terrorists such as the Houthis in Yemen.
It dates back years. In 2018, the US said that "In Iraq, credible reports indicate that Iran is transferring ballistic missiles to Shia militia groups. This comes as these militias carried out highly provocative attacks on U.S. diplomatic facilities in Baghdad and Basra in September, which we know that Iran did nothing to stop."
Since the collapse of Tehran’s ally, Bashar al-Assad, in Syria earlier this month, Tehran is scrambling to explain the loss, which many see as a strategic defeat.
In a speech on Sunday, Khamenei attempted to downplay the weakening and defeats of Tehran’s regional allies and proxies. "They constantly say that the Islamic Republic has lost its proxy forces in the region! This is another mistake! The Islamic Republic does not have proxy forces. Yemen fights because of its faith; Hezbollah fights because its faith gives it strength to fight; Hamas and Jihad fight because their beliefs compel them to do so."
Iran has invested tens of billions of dollars and thousands of forces into Syria for years, with bases across the country and a heavy military presence. Iranian officials have acknowledged that Tehran has spent at least $50 billion in Syria sine 2011, when it began to send military advisers and, later, a mix of Iranian forces along with Afghan, Pakistani and Iraqi militias to defend Assad’s embattled rule.
At the end of his remarks, Salami once again denied arming the Palestinian group in Gaza, Hamas, despite multiple reports over the years of training, funding and weapons provision.
In January, the Associated Press published an investigation of more than 150 videos and photos taken in the three months of combat since Hamas launched its October 7 attack on Israel, showing the militant group had amassed a diverse patchwork arsenal of weapons from around the world, including Iranian sniper rifles.
After October 7, the Israeli military recovered Iranian-made AZ111 mortar round fuses and M112 demolition charges which it said were used in the invasion which led to the deaths of at least 1,100.
As far back as 2014's Gaza war, the Israeli military has been intercepting weapons smuggled from Iran.
One shipment contained 40 long-range M-302 rockets, 181 mortar shells, and approximately 400,000 7.62 caliber rounds.
“Palestine is alive; have they surrendered? They are still fighting. The pillars of the resistance act based on their own motivations, and everyone fights with their own capabilities, relying on no one. We support the resistance front, but they produce their own weapons.”
Just before the October 7 attacks, hundreds of Hamas militia had traveled to Iran for combat training, according to intelligence seen by the Wall Street Journal. The report said around 500 had had been led by officers of the Quds Force.