Report: Israeli official claims renewed strikes on Iran ‘only a matter of time’

An Israeli official has claimed that another round of strikes against Iran is “only a matter of time,” saying Tehran is racing to reactivate and fortify its nuclear program in anticipation of a possible attack, Saudi news channel Al-Hadath reported on Thursday.

The unnamed source said Israel had recently detected intensified efforts to relocate and fortify parts of Iran’s nuclear program at Kuh-e Kolang Gaz La, or “Pickaxe Mountain,” near the Natanz nuclear facility.

Earlier this month, the head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog said the agency had observed construction activity at Pickaxe Mountain, which Western intelligence has flagged as a site that could be used to store nuclear material.

Israel would again strike Iran’s nuclear facilities if Tehran crossed its “red lines,” and would do so either alongside the United States or independently, the official said, adding that Israel was ready for renewed fighting with Iran “at any time.”

The source said coordination with Washington remained “strong and continuous,” but voiced doubt that ongoing mediation could yield a deal between the US and Iran.

The US and Iran held indirect talks Tuesday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, the first such negotiations since mid-June, with US President Donald Trump saying afterward that they “went very well.”

Israel, which launched the military campaign against Iran jointly with the US in late February but has largely refrained from strikes since April, has not been represented at any of the talks.

According to Al-Hadath, the official also warned that mounting economic pressure and divisions within Iran could lead Tehran to respond militarily across the region, including against Israel, and argued that “the real guarantee for preventing a nuclear Iran lies in bringing down its current regime, one way or another.”

One of the declared goals of the Israeli-US war was creating the conditions for the fall of the Iranian regime, but this did not end up materializing.

The US expanded its secondary sanctions against Iran last month, with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent describing the measures as an “economic D-Day” aimed at severing “every economic lifeline” sustaining the Islamic Republic.

At the same time, Iranian airlines are facing growing restrictions on international travel.

Iranian UAE, a Persian-language outlet operating in the United Arab Emirates, reported Thursday that Iranian carriers had been notified Wednesday evening that they would be barred from flying to the country until further notice.

The reported ban came after Washington sanctioned all Iranian airlines on Wednesday and warned that, from September 23, companies supplying them with aviation services could face secondary sanctions.

As a result, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Oman suspended Iranian flights, while a travel agent in Tehran told AFP that flights to Baghdad, Muscat and Qatar had also been halted.

AFP contributed to this report.