JERUSALEM — Following the announcement of renewed maximum economic sanctions by the U.S. on Iran, a senior Iranian general proclaimed Thursday that Iran would launch an attack to destroy Israel.

In 2024, Iran’s government initiated two significant aerial assaults against Israel, a crucial American ally in the Middle East.

According to Iranian state media, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) General Ebrahim Jabbari stated, “Operation True Promise 3 will be executed precisely, at the opportune moment, and with the necessary force to obliterate Israel and level Tel Aviv and Haifa.”

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar responded to Jabbari’s threat on X, asserting, “History teaches the Jewish people that if an enemy declares their intention to destroy you, believe them. We are prepared.”

Middle East expert Tom Gross told Digital, “The Israeli foreign minister is correct. Iran’s genocidal threats must be taken seriously. Had previous threats from Iran and its Hamas allies been taken more seriously, the Oct. 7 attack might have been prevented.”

Jabbari’s comments appear intended to provoke a confrontation between Trump and the Iranian regime. He made the declaration about destroying Israel while addressing paramilitary forces during military exercises called “The Great Exercise of Prophet Mohammad’s Power.”

“The United States is powerless against Yemen,” Jabbari said, seemingly referencing the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the .

Since the U.S. military strike that killed IRGC General Qassem Soleimani in 2020, Iran has pursued assassination plots.

“If they’re trying to send a message to Trump, they should be cautious,” Gross warned. “The U.S. president had no hesitation in eliminating the previous head of the revolutionary guards during his first term, and since then, the regime has attempted to assassinate Trump, who now has unfinished business with Tehran.”

Digital reported that the U.S. State Department attributed the deaths of over 600 U.S. military personnel during the Iraq war to Soleimani.

Trump responded to Iran’s assassination plot by stating that if Tehran were to assassinate him, “That would be a terrible mistake for them.

“If they did that, they would be obliterated. That would be the end. … There won’t be anything left.”

Gross suggested, “Iran’s government may be apprehensive due to the loss of allies like Hezbollah and Assad, and possibly Russia. The regime might be threatening Israel to deter Washington and Jerusalem from taking action against its nuclear weapons program.”

Banafsheh Zand, an Iranian-American expert, told Digital, “The Khomeinist regime has always been open about its intentions, yet the West has consistently ignored these threats. Even as the Shia regime devastated Iran and its people and launched terrorist attacks globally, Western leaders ignored it. They could have supported the people of Iran, the region, and the Islamic world but deliberately chose not to.”

Ali Khamenei leads Iran, a country the U.S. State Department identifies as the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism.

Zand lamented that “Western leaders have been short-sighted, out of touch, greedy, and penny-wise, pound-foolish. Consequently, 46 years later, the cycle of poor choices continues, placing Western citizens in increasing danger.”

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