Israel Orders Military to Prepare New Iran Strike as Tehran Threatens US Bases in Europe

JERUSALEM — Israel's security cabinet has ordered the military to step up preparations for a possible new attack on Iran, Israeli media reported on Wednesday evening, in a move that has set off a political clash in Jerusalem and a warning from Tehran that American bases as far away as Europe would be struck if the United States joins a new war.

Broadcaster KAN, which first carried the report, warned that the directives issued to the military "could lead it to carry out activities that could trigger a war." The cabinet is now scheduled to meet on Sunday for the first time since October 5, as the political transition after Israel's inconclusive October election collides with decisions about a new round of fighting.

The order became public after Gadi Eisenkot, the opposition leader tasked by President Isaac Herzog with forming a new government, wrote to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demanding that he refrain from deploying the military "without a direct and immediate threat" until that government is in place. Netanyahu, who is governing in a caretaker capacity after his coalition lost its parliamentary majority, rejected the demand and accused Eisenkot of acting irresponsibly.

A caretaker government at odds over war

Eisenkot, whose Yashar party secured 67 endorsements to form a government, warned in his letter that "deploying security forces without a direct and immediate threat that cannot be postponed could have devastating consequences for Israeli democracy and public trust in state institutions." He also appealed to the attorney-general for regular security briefings, and accused Netanyahu of refusing him an operational briefing through official channels and delaying the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee until next week.

Netanyahu responded that "this is an irresponsible move to publicly discuss sensitive security matters" and insisted that "all decisions made by the government were based solely on security considerations and in full coordination with the defense establishment." Eisenkot shot back: "If so, why did you refuse my request to receive an operational briefing through official channels, as is customary? Why are you trying to delay the convening of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, which you have not convened until next week? I will not allow a vacuum in the oversight of a government that has lost the Knesset's confidence."

The standoff comes as Netanyahu has insisted the war on Iran will continue until the government in Tehran collapses. Senior security officials told KAN that the Israel Defense Forces continue to prepare for a possible renewal of military operations in line with directives from the political leadership, and warned that the longer the standoff lasts without action or agreement, the more earlier gains against Iran will erode. Channel 12 reported this week that military chief of staff Eyal Zamir has again opposed unspecified action Netanyahu wanted to take against Iran.

Tehran widens the map of retaliation

Within hours of the Israeli reports, Tehran answered by widening the map of what it says it will strike. Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said in a social media post that "if the US launches another war against Iran, every military base involved in the aggression, from West Asia to Europe, will be a legitimate target for Iran's lethal strikes." He added: "No safe distance. No safe haven. No immunity."

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who leads Iran's negotiating team, told Al Jazeera in an interview published on Wednesday that the Strait of Hormuz will "never return" to its status before the US-Israel war on Iran, and that "the ball is now in the American court." He said that "what stands in the way of an agreement is our lack of trust in the United States."

Al Jazeera's Tehran correspondent reported that the Iranian leadership has discussed appointing the hawkish Rezaei as its new chief negotiator, and that voices in Tehran say that if the current state of neither war nor settled peace drags on, Iran will not wait and might act first. Ghalibaf has spoken of moving beyond that state through "sustainable deterrence" if negotiations fail.

Washington pulls in the other direction

In Washington, President Donald Trump has said he is prepared to return to waging war if the diplomatic track offered by Qatar fails to produce a deal between Washington and Tehran — but he has also said the war would end soon, and his administration has played down the need for further strikes. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said the economic pressure campaign against Iran is proving so effective that a resumption of large-scale military operations is unnecessary.

"Over the last few days, both the president and Marco Rubio have said, effectively, that large-scale military engagement is over. They do not see the need to restart it unless Iran crosses red lines," Al Jazeera's correspondent in Washington reported, adding that the White House wants to be in a position where Trump can declare victory. Behind the scenes, Vice President JD Vance wrote to Rezaei in October seeking a meeting, a letter Trump has confirmed, though Rezaei has dismissed reports of talks as "fake news" and no date has been set.

Meanwhile, US forces "continue to work around the clock" to keep the Strait of Hormuz open to commercial shipping while enforcing what US Central Command calls an "ironclad" naval blockade against Iran. The limited American strike on Iran's Qeshm Island earlier this month showed how quickly a single incident can pull the two sides back toward open fighting, even as both governments say they prefer a deal.

Oil edges higher as diplomacy stalls

Oil prices rose about 1 percent on Wednesday after Tehran rejected a US proposal to transfer its stockpile of 60 percent enriched uranium to a third country. Brent futures settled $1.27, or 1.39 percent, higher at $92.76 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude gained 49 cents, or 0.57 percent, to $86.53.

The rise came a day after prices had fallen by more than $3 a barrel when US officials played down the need for further military strikes against Iran, before paring losses when an Iranian official said no talks were taking place between the two sides. The swings capture a market caught between two signals: Washington saying it does not need a new war, and Jerusalem preparing for one.

What happens next

All eyes now turn to Sunday, when the security cabinet meets for the first time in more than a month. Under Israeli law, a decision to go to war or to launch a major operation likely to lead to war requires approval from the government or the security cabinet — a body Netanyahu chairs and which is made up of ministers from his own government.

Israel and Iran have already fought two wars since June 2025, and the meeting will test whether a caretaker prime minister on the edge of losing power can order preparations for a new one while his chosen successor demands restraint — and whether the Qatar-led track can produce a deal before those preparations harden into action. For now, the region sits between two clocks: the cabinet's Sunday meeting in Jerusalem, and Tehran's warning that the next war, if it comes, will not stop at the region's borders.