Israel boosting air defenses in preparation for possible Iran war - Walla
File photo of an Israeli Iron Dome launcher firing a missile
Israeli defense forces are accelerating plans to strengthen the country’s advanced defense capabilities in anticipation of a new wave of missile attacks from Iran or its Yemeni proxy forces, Walla News reported on Friday.
Director General of the Defense Ministry, Major General Amir Baram, has ordered the expedited development and production of air defense systems, including the Arrow 3, Arrow 4, Iron Dome, David’s Sling, and a ground-based laser system, according to the report.
The directive also covers additional ground-based laser systems, various radar systems, and other classified technologies.
Each of these defense systems covers different capabilities. The Iron Dome is a short-range system that intercepts rockets and artillery shells with a range of 4-70 km (2-43 miles). It uses radar to detect and track threats, and its interceptors destroy them mid-air.
Arrow 3 and Arrow 4 are long-range ballistic missile defense systems. Arrow 2 intercepts missiles in the upper atmosphere, while Arrow 3 targets them in space, making it effective against threats such as Iran’s ballistic missiles.
David’s Sling is a medium-range defense, intercepts tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones (40-300 km, 24-186 miles range).
On Thursday, Israel’s military chief said the army is prepared to launch more strikes on Iran if necessary, after what he described as a successful preemptive war in June that halted an emerging existential threat to Israel.
Baram’s order follows continued missile launches by Iran-backed Houthis from Yemen and also speculations about the resumption of the June war between Iran and Israel.
Investigations into Iranian missile strikes on Israel—particularly those in the final hours before the ceasefire—are a focus of the air defense unit’s current assessments, the Walla News report said.
The last missile salvo against Israel occurred on June 24, when Iran fired six barrages totaling 20 ballistic missiles. Israel said most were intercepted, but some hit targets, including an apartment complex in Beersheba.
Baram’s directive places strong emphasis on cooperation with the United States Central Command (CENTCOM). Israel officially became part of CENTCOM’s area of responsibility in 2021.
Israel launched a surprise military campaign on June 13 targeting military and nuclear sites, assassinating senior Iranian commanders, and killing hundreds of civilians.
The chief of staff to Iran's president said Israel’s attack on a Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) meeting on June 16 was a targeted attempt to kill Masoud Pezeshkian, who escaped with a minor injury.
On the fourth day of the Israeli 12-day war on Iran, the SNSC meeting attended by the heads of Iran’s three branches of power was hit by six bombs or missiles. Iranian state media later reported that President Pezeshkian and some other officials sustained minor leg injuries when trying to flee.
“I immediately ran out of the meeting and saw Pezeshkian walking about four meters away. He was on his feet, with a slight injury to his leg,” Mohsen Haji-Mirzaei, chief of staff to the Iranian president, said in an interview aired by the state TV on Friday.
He said that despite his injured leg, President Pezeshkian took a shower that day and met with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The next day, he visited a doctor to drain a swollen hematoma from his leg.
“Israel had a calculated plan to kill Pezeshkian, but God did not will his death,” Haji-Mirzaei said.
Israel targeted the building’s entrances and exits with six missiles or bombs to block escape routes and cut off airflow, Revolutionary Guards affiliated Fars News reported last month.
“Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni had inhaled so much dust that he was struggling to breathe, and medics were helping him," Pezeshkian's chief of staff said.
“I saw General Mousavi (Abdolrahim Mousavi, chief of staff of the Iranian armed forces) with his face and body covered in dust and his clothes torn,” Haji-Mirzaei added.
Israel launched a surprise military campaign on June 13 targeting military and nuclear sites, assassinating senior Iranian commanders and killing hundreds of civilians.
During the 12-day conflict, Israel killed more than 30 senior security officials and at least 11 senior nuclear scientists. According to an Iranian government spokesperson, 1,062 Iranians were killed, including 786 military personnel and 276 civilians.
Iran retaliated with missile strikes that killed 31 civilians and one off-duty soldier. On June 22, the United States joined the campaign by carrying out airstrikes on Iran’s key nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan.
A US-brokered ceasefire put an end to the conflict on June 24.
A senior Iranian intelligence official and a network of operatives have been identified as key figures in a cyber group that targeted London-based broadcaster Iran International and its staff, according to information obtained by the channel.
The hacking group, known as “Handala,” is tied to the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence’s Domestic Security Directorate and operates as part of a broader cyber unit known as “Banished Kitten” — also referred to as Storm-0842 or Dune.
This unit falls under the supervision of Yahya Hosseini Panjaki, the ministry’s deputy for domestic security. Panjaki was sanctioned by the United States in 2024 over alleged plots to assassinate Iranian dissidents abroad, a few months after his identity was exposed by Iran International.
The broadcaster said the latest findings show that the July cyber operation was intended to intimidate journalists and disrupt their work, with the group publishing personal documents, private images, and screenshots from an editorial meeting.
A screengrab from a video showing Ali Bermoudeh
According to information obtained by Iran International, one of the identified operatives is Ali Bermoudeh, a 27-year-old from Tabriz who runs an online store and has previously worked with Iran’s cyber police (FATA).
One source said that "Bermoudeh is an amateur hacker whose passwords for many of his main accounts are simply his date of birth. All his user credentials with that same password are stored with one service provider."
According to the source, he has been gathering user data for security agencies since his teenage years, and he is connected to the network through his father Mousa Bermoudeh, a provincial official with the state-affiliated Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs and a decorated IRGC Basij member.
The group also includes Morteza Aftabifar, said to be Bermoudeh’s handler within the Ministry of Intelligence.
Both men are from Tabriz, as is Panjaki, who heads the larger project within which the cyber unit operates.
Panjaki is described as part of a newer generation of intelligence managers trusted by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, with a background in political science from Azad University of Tabriz. He also founded a “Qassem Soleimani Headquarters” within the ministry, coordinating with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on overseas operations, the channel has learned.
In July, Iran International confirmed that leaked materials published by Iranian state outlets came from earlier hacks in summer 2024 and January 2025, which it attributed to Banished Kitten.
The channel said the hackers may have installed malware via compromised Telegram accounts. “These cyberattacks are part of a broader campaign of threats targeting Iran International, including physical threats against our staff.”
Iran International, which reports on events in Iran and the wider region, said its staff had faced sustained harassment since the channel was founded in 2017, including threats of assassination and kidnapping, physical assaults, online abuse, and hacking.
British lawmakers have accused Iran of engaging in “transnational repression” on UK soil, citing assassination plots, intimidation of family members, asset freezes, smear campaigns, and cyberattacks.
The channel has also been the focus of physical threats: in 2023 a man was convicted under terrorism laws after filming outside its premises, and in 2024 a presenter was stabbed in London.
Iran International said earlier in August that it had filed an urgent appeal to United Nations experts over “serious risks to the lives and safety” of its journalists worldwide and their relatives inside Iran.
US-based advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) called on Washington and its European allies to confront Iran’s transnational repression, which it says has escalated since the start of a 12-day war between Iran and Israel in June.
Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem warned on Friday that moves to strip the group of its weapons risk plunging Lebanon into war, vowing that the Iran-backed movement would not surrender its arsenal despite a recent government decision to disarm it.
Speaking in the eastern city of Baalbek at a Shi’ite religious gathering marking the Arbaeen, Qassem said “the resistance will not hand over its weapons” and pledged to fight a “Karbala-like battle” if necessary.
The Battle of Karbala, the most iconic event in Shia Islam, was fought in 680 between Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, and the forces of Umayyad Caliph Yazid I; Qassem likened Iran’s Supreme Leader to the “Hussein of our time” and named Israel and the United States as the “Yazid of our time.”
Qassem described the group’s arms as central to Lebanon’s “honor, dignity, patriotism, and sovereignty,” and credited the Islamic Republic for its ongoing financial, military, and political support.
Threatening US embassy in Beirut
Qassem also warned the Lebanese government against any moves to confront Hezbollah, saying such action would leave “no life” in the country.
He said Hezbollah and its Shi’ite ally, the Amal movement, had decided to postpone street demonstrations against a US-supported disarmament plan, citing a remaining window for dialogue with authorities.
However, he cautioned that any future protests could extend to the vicinity of the US Embassy in Beirut.
The US submitted a plan through President Donald Trump's envoy to the region, Tom Barrack, setting out the most detailed steps yet for disarming Hezbollah, which has rejected mounting calls to disarm since its devastating war with Israel last year.
Lebanon’s justice minister said on Friday that the government was already working on a plan to collect Hezbollah’s weapons before the US proposal, as part of efforts to strengthen state authority and keep arms solely in the hands of official forces.
"The threat by some to destroy Lebanon in defense of their weapons puts an end to the claim that the weapons are for defending Lebanon," Adel Nassar wrote on X.
The Lebanese cabinet’s August 5 order to disarm Hezbollah during conflict drew sharp criticism from Tehran.
Senior Iranian official Ali-Akbar Velayati called the decision “a dream that won’t come true,” labeling it an Israeli- and US-driven policy. Lebanon’s foreign ministry condemned those remarks as “unacceptable interference” in domestic affairs.
Qassem’s remarks came after Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani visited Lebanon, meeting Qassem, President Joseph Aoun, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, and other officials.
Aoun told Larijani on Wednesday that no group should bear arms outside the authority of the state or rely on foreign backing, while affirming openness to cooperation “within national sovereignty and mutual respect.”
Larijani responded by voicing respect for Lebanon’s government decisions but also urged Beirut to “appreciate the value of the resistance,” calling Israel the country’s true enemy.
He denied that Iran interferes in Lebanon’s affairs and pledged continued political and reconstruction support.
Founded in 1982 by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, Hezbollah has grown into Lebanon’s most powerful military force, surpassing the national army in capabilities. The group has fought multiple wars with Israel and has rejected any initiatives to dismantle its military wing.
“The aggression continues,” Qassem said, “and we will confront it as we have always done — with our weapons in hand.”
Iranian officials said on Thursday they are seeking ways to prevent the return of UN sanctions and are ready to hold talks with the United States over Tehran's disputed nuclear program, provided they are not used as a pretext for another military campaign.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani both said the Islamic Republic prefers the path of peace and is determined to block the Europeans' bid to reinstate the UN sanctions via the so-called "snapback" mechanism.
“Europeans have until October 28 to trigger the snapback mechanism," Araghchi told the state TV.
He acknowledged the three European countries could technically trigger snapback but argued the move would lack legitimacy.
"In our view—given their positions, including their insistence on zero enrichment despite Iran’s enrichment rights under the 2015 nuclear deal—they lack the legitimacy to discuss or apply any part of the deal, including snapback."
“Iran, China, and Russia are in a legal dispute with the three European countries in the UN Security Council over whether they have the right to trigger snapback. Our view is they do not, and even if they did, it lacks legitimacy,” he said.
France, Germany, and the United Kingdom have told the United Nations they are prepared to reimpose international sanctions on Iran unless it resumes nuclear negotiations with the United States and other powers, according to a letter shared by the French foreign ministry on Wednesday.
“There is no doubt something must be done to stop it, and we will spare no effort until the last moment,” Araghchi said.
The snapback mechanism, part of UN Security Council Resolution 2231, allows any JCPOA party to accuse Iran of non-compliance. If no agreement is reached within 30 days to keep the bans lifted, all previous UN sanctions automatically return, including arms embargoes, cargo inspections, and missile restrictions.
If European powers trigger the snapback mechanism against Iran, the country would face isolation from global financial markets, a sharp drop in oil exports, with foreign investment blocked by legal hurdles, US-based National Security Journal said in an analysis piece on Thursday.
Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence on Monday reportedly issued secret guidance instructing ministries and major companies to prepare for the likely return of UN sanctions.
'Talks with US possible'
Iran's top security official Ali Larijani said on Thursday talks with the United States are possible but only if aimed at a genuine resolution.
“If the United States realizes it cannot defeat the Islamic Republic through war and then seeks negotiations, we will respond positively. But if they negotiate to prepare for the next war, it will be of no benefit to us,” Larijani said in an interview Lebanon’s Al-Mayadeen.
“Some believe negotiations can solve everything. Negotiations are only useful when both sides accept and understand they cannot achieve their goals through war,” Larijani added.
France, the United Kingdom and Germany told Iran they would restore UN sanctions unless it reopened talks on its nuclear program immediately and produced concrete results by the end of August.
Negotiations under the Trump administration began with a 60-day ultimatum to Iran. On the 61st day on June 13, Israel launched a surprise military campaign.
The Israeli strikes began on the eve of the sixth round of negotiations with the United States.
On the ninth day of fighting, the United States bombed three Iranian nuclear sites which US President Donald Trump has consistently said "obliterated" the country's nuclear program.
Two senior Iranian officials said on Thursday that the Israeli prime minister’s attempt to spark protests in Iran fell flat over what they called popular support for the Islamic Republic, two days after Netanyahu urged Iranians to take to the streets.
“God has created our enemies foolish; these threadbare, repetitive and childish tricks no longer work,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in reaction to a video message by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier in the week calling on Iranians to launch antigovernment protests.
Araghchi added that the people of Iran firmly stand behind the Islamic Republic.
Netanyahu, in a video message on Tuesday urged the people of Iran "to be bold and brave, take risk for freedom, take to the streets, demand justice and protest tyranny". "Soon your country will be free. Now is the time for action," he said.
Netanyahu also promised that following a regime change in Iran, Israel would send top water experts to help with the country's ongoing water crisis.
Araghchi downplayed the remarks, saying "our own specialists know the methods of water regeneration and new ways of securing water… the problem has no miraculous solution and cannot be resolved overnight."
A day earlier, Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian mocked Netanyahu over his offer to solve the ongoing crisis.
“A regime that deprives Gaza of water and food now says it will bring water to Iran? A MIRAGE, NOTHING MORE,” Pezeshkian wrote on X.
'Netanyahu misjudges Iranian public'
Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani also said Netanyahu misjudged the public mood when he openly urged Iranians to protest during the two countries' 12-day war in June.
“The enemy wanted to create sedition in the Islamic Republic and drag people into the streets — just as Netanyahu openly urged — but this was Netanyahu’s foolishness because he thought the people of Iran like him,” Larijani was quoted as saying by Hezbollah-affiliated Al Mayadeen on Thursday.
Larijani added that even the Islamic Republic's domestic opponents stood alongside the state, and that Israel was the tactical loser in the 12-day conflict.
The top security chief warned that Iran was ready to respond forcefully to any fresh Israeli attack.
Israel was preparing a final wave of attacks aimed at toppling Iran’s ruling system when US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire, The Washington Post reported last month, citing Israeli and American officials involved in the operation.
“When Trump declared a ceasefire, Israel was moving into a final phase of attacks intended to topple the regime,” said David Ignatius in an opinion piece published by The Washington Post.
The final phase, which Israeli planners believed could bring down the Islamic Republic, was halted when Trump intervened.
The ceasefire announced by Trump on June 23 ended a 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran that was capped off by US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.
At the height of the conflict, both Netanyahu and Trump hinted at favoring Iranian regime change.
"It’s not politically correct to use the term, 'Regime Change,' but if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn’t there be a Regime change??? MIGA!!!" Trump said in a post on Truth Social in late June.