Israel said mulling attacks on Iran oil rigs, nuclear sites in response to missile attack
Cabinet said resolved to respond militarily, but has not decided how; officials also weighing targeted assassinations, attacks on air defenses; response to be coordinated with US
Israel may respond to Iran’s major Tuesday ballistic missile attack by striking strategic infrastructure, such as gas or oil rigs, or by directly targeting Iran’s nuclear sites, media reports said on Wednesday, citing Israeli officials.
Targeted assassinations and attacks on Iran’s air defense systems are also possible responses, Axios reported.
An attack on Iranian oil facilities could devastate the country’s economy, and any of the considered responses could mark another escalation, almost one year into the ongoing war that began when the Hamas terror group attacked Israel in October 2023.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened a meeting with Israel’s security chiefs at the IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv Wednesday, his office said in a statement.
The meeting — held hours before the Rosh Hashanah holiday, marking the Jewish New Year — was expected to discuss potential responses to the attack, which consisted of some 181 ballistic missiles fired directly at Israel from Iran, almost all of which were intercepted as Israelis nationwide gathered in bomb shelters.
The PMO released a picture from the meeting showing Netanyahu huddling with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, Mossad chief David Barnea and Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar. Also present were Maj. Gen. Ronen Gofman, Netanyahu’s military aide, and Tzachi Braverman, the premier’s chief of staff.
The absence of a more specific decision was in part out of a desire to coordinate any plans with the United States, the report said, adding that Netanyahu was expected to speak with US President Joe Biden as soon as Wednesday afternoon.
Netanyahu declared after the attack that “Iran made a big mistake tonight, and it will pay for it,” vowing, “whoever attacks us — we will attack them.”
In April, the Islamic Republic fired some 300 missiles and drones at Israel, after an airstrike killed several Iranian generals in Damascus. Though Israel’s alleged response to that attack was restrained, analysts told media outlets Wednesday that Israel is likely to be more aggressive this time around.
That’s in part because the attack on Tuesday came some two weeks into a new Israeli offensive against the Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon, which has devastated the Iranian proxy, lessening its power as a deterrent against strong Israeli action.
There remains, however, the possibility that Iran itself could escalate, including into a full-scale war, if Israel deals it a serious blow.
“We have a big question mark about how the Iranians are going to respond to an attack, but we take into consideration the possibility that they would go all in, which will be a whole different ball game,” an Israeli official told Axios.
In Israel, ministers vowed that Iran would regret the attack, while politicians, including from the opposition, called for a heavy response.
Foreign Minister Israel Katz, in a statement Tuesday, declared: “The ayatollahs’ regime has crossed the red line — and the State of Israel will not be silent in the face of Iran’s criminal attack on our citizens.”
Gallant wrote on X: “Iran has not learned a simple lesson — those who attack the State of Israel, pay a heavy price.”
I spent this evening in the command and control center together with senior defense officials, closely watching the IDF’s successful defense against the Iranian missile attack on Israel.
Iran has not learned a simple lesson – those who attack the State of Israel, pay a heavy…
— יואב גלנט – Yoav Gallant (@yoavgallant) October 1, 2024
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, too, said in a statement Wednesday morning that “the response must be harsh, and send a clear message to the entire axis: Iran, Yemen, Syria, Lebanon, and Gaza,” naming countries and territories from which Iranian-backed terror groups have launch attacks on Israel.
“Alongside a military response, we must also develop an overall regional political strategy, that turns military success into strategic change, and we must not forget for one moment the urgent need to bring our hostages home,” Lapid added, referring to the 97 people kidnapped in Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack who are still held captive in Gaza, plus four others held there for around a decade.
Some voices went further, calling explicitly for Israel to target Iran’s nuclear facilities and oil industry sites and to threaten the regime itself. Former prime minister Naftali Bennett, speaking on CNN Tuesday shortly after the attack, called this moment a “once in a 50-year opportunity.”
“We need to take out Iran’s nuclear program, we need to attack Iran’s energy facilities, and we need to attack the regime itself, right away,” Bennett said, noting that Hezbollah and Hamas are at a historically weak point after a year of war.
“It’s time to hit, destroy the nuclear program, and finally allow the Iranian people to rise up — the amazing Iranian people, who have one of the worst regimes on earth,” he said.
The United States on Wednesday signaled a willingness to support Israel in a potential response, with the White House promising “severe consequences for this attack,” and saying it “will work with Israel to make that the case.”
Asked how he wanted Israel to respond, US President Joe Biden said this was a matter in “active discussion” and that the consequences for Tehran “remain to be seen.”
US officials told Western outlets on Wednesday that while the Biden administration supports an Israeli response, it believes such a response should be limited, and is concerned about the consequences of escalation.
Republicans and pro-Israel Democrats in the US Congress, meanwhile, urged the White House to back Israel in a harsh response.
“I urge the reimposition of a maximum pressure campaign against Iran and fully support Israel’s right to respond disproportionately to stop this threat,” said Senator Marco Rubio, using the Trump administration’s phrase for its exertion of harsh sanctions.
