Netanyahu's Reaction to Iran's Missile Unveiling: We Know What You Are Doing

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, reacted to Iran's unveiling of the long-range ground cruise missile "Hoveyzeh" by stating that "Israel knows exactly what you are doing." A day earlier, Major General Amir Hatami, Iran's Minister of Defense, and Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the commander of Iran's Aerospace Force, unveiled the "Hoveyzeh" missile at the "Defense and Construction Achievements" exhibition in Tehran, marking the 40th anniversary of the Islamic Republic. The Iranian Minister of Defense mentioned that the "Hoveyzeh" can be used against fixed ground targets. The missile's range of 1,350 kilometers is reportedly sufficient for launching from the westernmost point of Iran to reach Israel. According to Ynet, Benjamin Netanyahu stated on Sunday, February 3, at the beginning of his government meeting in Jerusalem that "Iran boasts of a new missile in the 40th year of its revolution; at the same time, it openly speaks of its intention to destroy Israel." He addressed Iran by saying, "We know what you are doing and where you are doing it." The Israeli Prime Minister added, "I have a clear message to the tyrants in Tehran: with all the tools at our disposal, we will act against you and secure Israel's future." Netanyahu's reaction to the new "Hoveyzeh" missile comes as other Iranian missiles, such as the Shahab-3, have had sufficient range to reach Israel for years. Before the "Hoveyzeh," Iran had the ground cruise missile "Soumar" with a range of only 700 kilometers. The Iranian Minister of Defense stated that the missile has been "successfully tested; it has accurately struck targets" and is ready for delivery to the Aerospace Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Israel also announced 12 days prior the "successful" test of its "Pikkan 3" missile system, calling it another part of ensuring its military superiority in the region. Israel and Iran have intensified their verbal attacks against each other while unveiling their "missile capabilities" in recent days. On one hand, Israel has abandoned its previous policy of "deliberate ambiguity" towards Iran and speaks of a "direct battle" between its army and the Quds Force of the IRGC in Syria. On the other hand, Aziz Nasirzadeh, the commander of the Iranian Air Force, recently spoke of Iran's "impatient" readiness to battle Israel and "erase" this country. Hossein Salami, the deputy commander of the IRGC, also warned Israel in a news interview on Iran's Channel 2 that "they should not make mistakes; if they do, they will certainly be erased from the pages of history." Israeli political sources have reported that Benjamin Netanyahu, despite being in an election campaign, will undertake a series of trips to several countries in the coming days, with Iran being the focus of most of his discussions. Alexander Lavrentiev, the special envoy of the President of Russia, confirmed that Vladimir Putin will meet with Netanyahu "in the near future" after visiting Jerusalem on February 9. Israeli media reported that continued coordination between Israel and Russia regarding Israeli attacks on "Iranian targets" in Syria is on the agenda for Netanyahu's talks with Putin. According to these reports, the Israeli Prime Minister is also preparing to deliver a speech at the Warsaw conference next week regarding Iran. At the same time, Netanyahu stated during his government meeting on Sunday that if Hamas does not maintain calm, Israel "will not hesitate to attack Gaza even during the elections." After Hamas rejected conditions set by Israel for transferring Qatari financial aid to Gaza last week, Hamas leaders supported the escalation of Palestinian protests at the Gaza-Israel border. The latest of these protests occurred on Friday, February 1, resulting in around 40 injuries. Israel considers Hamas, which has ruled Gaza for the past 13 years, as "Iran's proxy arm."