(UPI) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that the country will take all necessary actions to fend off Iranian aggression in the region.
Speaking alongside Defense Minister Naftali Bennet during a tour of the Golan Heights region, Netanyahu said it was Israel’s “absolute” responsibility to prevent Iran from using Yemen and Iraq as bases to launch missile attacks against the country.
“Iran’s aggression in the region continues against us continues,” he said. “We are taking all the actions necessary to prevent Iran from entrenching itself in the region. This includes action necessary to thwart the transfer of lethal weapons from Iran to Syria, via the air or sea.”
Bennett warned Iranian leaders to stay away from Israel and focus on the lives of the country’s own citizens.
“You have no business here, you have no reason to entrench yourselves. Anything you try to accomplish here will meet with a strong and determined IDF that will hurt you,” he said.
The pair’s comments come after Israel and Iran carried out rocket strikes against each other last week.
In his speech, Netanyahu cited a quote from U.S. Central Command chief Gen. Kenneth McKenzie in The New York Times saying Iran was unlikely to have been deterred by increased U.S. troop deployments in the region.
“My judgment is that it is very possible they will attack again,” McKenzie said.