Israel’s Kohavi: Preparations to Carry Out Operations Against Iran Moving at Rapid Pace

A photo published by the Israeli army on Twitter from the ceremony to introduce the new Air Force chief on Monday, April 4, 2022.
A photo published by the Israeli army on Twitter from the ceremony to introduce the new Air Force chief on Monday, April 4, 2022.
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Israel’s Kohavi: Preparations to Carry Out Operations Against Iran Moving at Rapid Pace

A photo published by the Israeli army on Twitter from the ceremony to introduce the new Air Force chief on Monday, April 4, 2022.
A photo published by the Israeli army on Twitter from the ceremony to introduce the new Air Force chief on Monday, April 4, 2022.

Chief of Staff of the Israeli army Aviv Kohavi and the newly-appointed Air Force Commander, Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar, addressed Iran on Tuesday and cited operations carried out by their forces in the past and their readiness for the future.

At a ceremony Monday, Bar took over his new post, replacing Maj. Gen. Amikam Norkin, who has served in the position for five years.

During the event, Kohavi said the process of preparing for operations against Iran is currently moving at a rapid pace.

The Israeli Air Force has improved in recent years, but we still have to adapt to the future, Kohavi added.

He referred to the strikes targeting Iranian positions, arms and militias in Syria and other places in the Middle East region.

“We have enhanced our capabilities to launch airstrikes on our enemy,” he stressed, saying the army will continue to do so, while the air force will continue to play a key role in these wars.

He pointed out that the series of attacks have played an important role in preventing Iranian military deployment in Syria to threaten Israel and its citizens.

Kohavi and Bar affirmed that their forces are conducting an average of one military drill per week to ensure preparedness.

On Tuesday, the army conducted a new military exercise in the Red Sea city of Eilat, during which its forces used military vehicles and warplanes.

The military said this drill was planned as part of the 2022 exercises to determine the army’s readiness.

On the other hand, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s office announced that he discussed on Tuesday with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi various issues, mainly the Iranian nuclear deal.

It revealed that the coalition deal stipulates that the nuclear file remain within his authority even after handing over his post next year.

In mid-June 2021, Israel’s parliament approved a new coalition government, ending the historic 12-year rule of former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and sending the polarizing leader into the opposition.

Under the coalition deal, centrist Yair Lapid will replace Bennett as prime minister in August 2023.



Russia: Hypersonic Missile Strike on Ukraine Was a Warning to 'Reckless' West

Russian President Vladimir Putin makes a televised address, dedicated to a military conflict in Ukraine and in particular to Russia's launch of a hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile attack on a military facility in response to recent Ukrainian long-range strikes with Western weapons, in Moscow, Russia November 21, 2024. Sputnik/Vyacheslav Prokofyev/Pool via REUTERS
Russian President Vladimir Putin makes a televised address, dedicated to a military conflict in Ukraine and in particular to Russia's launch of a hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile attack on a military facility in response to recent Ukrainian long-range strikes with Western weapons, in Moscow, Russia November 21, 2024. Sputnik/Vyacheslav Prokofyev/Pool via REUTERS
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Russia: Hypersonic Missile Strike on Ukraine Was a Warning to 'Reckless' West

Russian President Vladimir Putin makes a televised address, dedicated to a military conflict in Ukraine and in particular to Russia's launch of a hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile attack on a military facility in response to recent Ukrainian long-range strikes with Western weapons, in Moscow, Russia November 21, 2024. Sputnik/Vyacheslav Prokofyev/Pool via REUTERS
Russian President Vladimir Putin makes a televised address, dedicated to a military conflict in Ukraine and in particular to Russia's launch of a hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile attack on a military facility in response to recent Ukrainian long-range strikes with Western weapons, in Moscow, Russia November 21, 2024. Sputnik/Vyacheslav Prokofyev/Pool via REUTERS

The Kremlin said on Friday that a strike on Ukraine using a newly developed hypersonic ballistic missile was designed as a message to the West that Moscow will respond to their "reckless" decisions and actions in support of Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was speaking a day after President Vladimir Putin said Moscow had fired the new missile - the Oreshnik or Hazel Tree - at a Ukrainian military facility.
"The main message is that the reckless decisions and actions of Western countries that produce missiles, supply them to Ukraine and subsequently participate in strikes on Russian territory cannot remain without a reaction from the Russian side," Peskov told reporters.
"The Russian side has clearly demonstrated its capabilities, and the contours of further retaliatory actions in the event that our concerns are not taken into account have been quite clearly outlined,” Reuters quoted him as saying.
Peskov said Russia had not been obliged to warn the United States about the strike, but had informed the US 30 minutes before the launch anyway.
President Vladimir Putin remained open to dialogue, Peskov said, but he said the outgoing administration of US President Joe Biden "prefers to continue down the path of escalation".
Putin said on Thursday that Russia had fired the new missile after Ukraine, with approval from the Biden administration, struck Russia with six US-made ATACMS missiles on Tuesday and with British Storm Shadow cruise missiles and US-made HIMARS on Thursday.
He said this meant that the Ukraine war had now "acquired elements of a global character".
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said Russia's use of the new missile amounted to "a clear and severe escalation" in the war and called for strong worldwide condemnation.