An Israeli official has vowed that Iran would be “wiped off the face of the earth” if Hezbollah opens up a northern front for Israel.
Israel and Hezbollah have been trading fire along the Lebanon-Israel border since the October 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel. There have been dozens of casualties, mainly on the Lebanon side, but Hezbollah has not launched a major assault on Israel.
Nir Barkat, Israel’s minister of economy, told The Mail on Sunday that if Hezbollah enters the war, Israel would not only “eliminate” the group but would also target Iran. “The plan of Iran is to attack Israel on all fronts. If we find they intend to target Israel, we will not just retaliate to those fronts, but we will go to the head of the snake, which is Iran,” he said.
Barkat’s warning comes as an Israeli ground invasion of Gaza appears imminent. Israel is stepping up its airstrikes on the besieged enclave and has already killed over 4,000 Palestinians, including over 1,000 children. Barkat threatened Iran with a similar fate.
“Lebanon and Hezbollah are going to pay a heavy price, similar to what Hamas is going to pay. But that’s not enough. The very clear message is that we are going to be going after the heads of Iran as well. When will we do that? When we decide,” Barkat said.
“Israel has a very clear message to our enemies. We are saying to them, look what’s happening in Gaza – you are going to get the same treatment if you attack us. We are going to wipe you off the face of the Earth,” he added.
Israel does not have the capabilities to sustain a bombing campaign in Iran without US support, and both Iran and Hezbollah have formidable militaries with advanced missiles. But Barkat’s threat is not hollow since Israel possesses a secret nuclear weapons stockpile, making it the only nuclear-armed nation in the Middle East.
Source: AntiWar.
