IDF warns Iran ‘will bear the consequences for choosing to escalate situation any further’

In an English-language video statement, IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari warns Iran that it “will bear the consequences for choosing to escalate the situation any further.”

The release of the video comes after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy seized an Israel-linked container ship near the Strait of Hormuz.

Hagari does not mention the incident, indicating it was perhaps filmed before, but says “Iran funds, trains and arms terror proxies across the Middle East and beyond.”

“Iran-backed Hamas started this war on October 7th; Iran-backed Hezbollah expanded this war on October 8th; and since then, Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Syria, and Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, have expanded this into a global conflict,” he says.

“Iran is the world’s biggest state sponsor of terror. Its network of terror doesn’t just threaten the people of Israel, Gaza, Lebanon and Syria; the regime in Iran fuels the war in Ukraine and beyond,” Hagari continues.

He says “Iran will bear the consequences for choosing to escalate the situation any further.”

“Israel is on high alert. We have increased our readiness to protect Israel from further Iranian aggression. We are also prepared to respond,” Hagari says.

“The Israel Defense Forces is prepared for all scenarios and will take the necessary steps — together with our allies — to protect the people of Israel,” he adds.