The Iranians have been busily rebuilding their store of ballistic missiles that the IDF so devastated in the Twelve-Day War in July. And it is that threat, and not the nuclear one that has been set back by several years, that is now preoccupying Israel’s defense chiefs. More on the warning just given by IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir about Iran’s ballistic missiles can be found here: “Army chief, hinting at potential new Iran war, says IDF will strike ‘wherever required,’” by Emanuel Fabian, Times of Israel, December 21, 2025:
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir warned Sunday that the military will strike Israel’s enemies “wherever required, on near and distant fronts alike,” apparently hinting that Israel may again need to attack in Iran.
“At the center of the longest and most complex war in Israel’s history stands the campaign against Iran,” he said, in reference to the multifront war that erupted on October 7, 2023, with Hamas’s attack on southern Israel, and drew in Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Yemen’s Houthis, Iraqi militias and the Islamic Republic itself.
“Iran is the one that financed and armed the ring of strangulation around Israel and stood behind the plans for its destruction,” he said at a changeover ceremony for the head of the IDF Planning Directorate.
Zamir’s comments came a day after NBC News reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will present plans for a new potential attack on Iran to US President Donald Trump during his upcoming visit to Washington.
According to the report, which cited several unnamed officials with knowledge of the matter, Israel is growing increasingly concerned that Iran is rebuilding and even expanding its ballistic missile production in the wake of the nations’ 12-day war in June.
While Israel has publicly called Iran’s nuclear program an existential threat, officials quoted in the report said that the ballistic missiles were seen by Jerusalem as a more pressing concern. “The nuclear weapons program is very concerning. There’s an attempt to reconstitute. [But] it’s not that immediate,” a source with knowledge of Israel’s plans told NBC News.
When Israel destroyed Iran’s nuclear facilities in the Twelve-Day War in June 2025 (with the Americans taking part, to good effect, on one of those days, June 22, 2025), it set back Iran’s nuclear program by several years. It is the buildup of its store of ballistic missiles that is now of immediate concern to the IDF. Its patience has run out, and it is widely believed that Prime Minister Netanyahu on his visit to Washington on December 29 will be explaining to President Trump why Israel has to strike both Iran’s current store of ballistic missiles, and the plants where they are being produced, without further delay.
“The threat of the missiles is very real, and we weren’t able to prevent them all last time,” another source said.
A source with knowledge on the matter, as well as former US officials, told NBC that Jerusalem believes Iran’s renewed production of ballistic missiles could increase to 3,000 per year if left unchecked.
Perhaps lending credence to Israel’s concerns, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi claimed Sunday that the Islamic Republic had rebuilt its strategic facilities damaged in the Israeli assault in June. Speaking to Russia Today, Araghchi said his country was “fully prepared” for a new round of fighting if it comes.
“In fact, we have reconstructed everything that was damaged in the previous aggression. If they want to repeat the same failed experience, they will not achieve a better result,” he told RT, as reported by Iran’s ISNA news agency.
The Twelve-Day War between Israel and Iran last June was not a “failed experience.” Israel devastated Iran’s nuclear program, and destroyed its store of ballistic missiles. But ever since that war, the Iranians have been going full steam ahead with resurrecting their ballistic missile plants, and are building them at an estimated rate of 3,000 missiles a year.
Israel cannot allow this buildup of ballistic missiles to continue. The Chief of the General Staff, Major General Eyal Zamir, knows this. So does Israel’s former head of the navy, Admiral Eliezer Merom. Iran has made no secret of its intentions: it is preparing for a massive first strike of several thousand ballistic missiles that will overwhelm Israeli defenses. Israel must pre-empt. And that is why Prime Minister Netanyahu is coming to Washington on December 29, to discuss with President Trump Iran’s growing threat — and he will remind Trump that those ballistic missiles can also hit American bases in the Middle East, and all of Europe. Netanyahu is hoping Trump will agree to collaborate with Israel an attack, but whether he does or not, and even if Trump opposes an Israeli attack, the Israelis will go ahead. Given the threat, they can do no other.
࿗Infidel࿘ says
Israel should start a covert campaign to overthrow that regime. Don’t involve the US at all, but just do it. Deny anything when asked, and just see Reza Pahlavi in power in Tehran. The rest will sort itself out
Taffy says
Easier said than done, but Israel had been known to do difficult things quickly, whereas for the impossible, she takes a little longer.
If the Ayatollah and his inner circle just disappeared, most likely an IRGC general would declare himself in charge. Israel would have to warn that if anyone connected with the present regime would take power, they will die just as Nasrallah and many before him dis.
On another note, doesn’t Iran have a severe drought and a corresponding severe water shortage? It’s always good to see that Iranian welfare takes a second seat to attacking Israel. And hasn’t become apparent to the Ayatollah that Allah has let them down time and time again, Israel remains and is flourishing, whereas her attackers are either destroyed or now well on their way to achieving that status?
James Lincoln says
Taffy says,
“If the Ayatollah and his inner circle just disappeared, most likely an IRGC general would declare himself in charge. Israel would have to warn that if anyone connected with the present regime would take power, they will die just as Nasrallah and many before him dis.”
Sounds like a good strategy to me.