Will Israel Strike Iran Again? What Netanyahu Ordered
Netanyahu Orders Iran Strike Preparations as Rezaei Threatens US Bases in Europe
Iran strikes: Israel’s cabinet told the army to prepare a new attack as Rezaei threatened US bases in Europe and Vance weighed talks. What was said.
In this article
Context
Israel’s security cabinet, led by caretaker Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, directed the army on Wednesday evening, 11 November, to step up preparations for a possible new attack on Iran, according to reports in Israel that Netanyahu’s office has not publicly confirmed. Hours earlier, opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot had written to Netanyahu asking him to “show restraint and caution, and refrain from dangerous moves that can wait.”
On the same day, Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said Iran would hit American bases in Europe if they were used against it. Vice President JD Vance, who wrote to Rezaei in October asking for a meeting, is reported in Washington to be weighing face-to-face talks with him. At Arlington National Cemetery, President Donald Trump said the war would be over “soon.”
Key takeaways
- Israel’s security cabinet ordered the army to intensify preparations for a possible attack on Iran on 11 November, while Netanyahu governs as caretaker with, Eisenkot says, the support of only 46 lawmakers.
- Rezaei said Iran would strike US bases “even one located in a European country” if American aircraft took off from them to bomb Iran.
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on 10 November there is “no need for major combat operations” because the economic campaign is working.
- Vance has asked to meet Rezaei, and Trump has confirmed the letter; Rezaei calls reports of talks “fake news” and no date has been set.
What Rezaei, Eisenkot and Trump said on 11 November
“If American aircraft take off from an American military base, even one located in a European country or some other distant region, to bomb Iran, we will strike those bases as well,” Rezaei said in an interview recorded in Tehran and broadcast on Wednesday. He said a renewed attack would lead Iran to “target America’s more distant military installations, including the ones we have not yet attacked,” and added: “We may even strike certain islands that they assume are beyond the reach of our missiles.”
Rezaei said Tehran would not send “even a tiny amount of the enriched material outside Iran,” and said “we need the enriched material to design ships and submarines that work on nuclear energy.”
Mohsen Rezaei commanded the Revolutionary Guards from 1981 to 1997 and became secretary of the Supreme National Security Council on 9 August 2026 by a decree of Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.
Eisenkot, who leads the Yashar party and has been tasked with forming the next government, warned Netanyahu against “deploying security forces in the absence of a direct and immediate threat.” He wrote that such moves during the transition could have “devastating consequences for Israeli democracy and public trust in the institutions of government,” and that “only 46 MKs still support your continued tenure as prime minister.” The letter does not name Iran. Netanyahu’s office said the letter was a transparent attempt to politicise national security.
Netanyahu’s office also denied an account of a weekend phone call with Trump about resuming operations against Iran, which unnamed Israeli sources described as “a shouting match from hell.” The office said it was “by no means a difficult conversation.”
At Arlington, Trump defended the war that began with US and Israeli strikes on 28 February. “America did not start a war with Iran,” he said. “Iran has been waging war on America since 1979.” He told the audience: “We won. Now the question is when we want to end. We must have a total victory. Not a 93% victory.” He said that “when this conflict is over, and it will be soon, the entire world will be much safer, a better place.”
Analysis
How the statements connect
On Tuesday, 10 November, after the G7 foreign ministers met in Paris, Rubio said: “We don’t need to conduct military strikes if we’re achieving the same objective through economic means.” He said “the economic pressure on Iran is going to get even worse.” A day later, Israel’s cabinet ordered the army to prepare for those strikes. Our Iran US talks update set out Rubio’s position and Tehran’s denial of talks.
Rezaei aimed his threat at the partner Israel fought beside in February. By naming bases in Europe, he warned the governments that host US aircraft that a second joint round would bring them into range.
Vance wants to meet the official who made that threat. Vance wrote to Rezaei in October asking for a meeting, and Trump confirmed the letter, saying it dealt with humanitarian and medical supplies. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said no meeting was scheduled. Rezaei called the reports “fake news” about “imaginary talks.” Rubio has called Iran’s demands to end the war “totally unrealistic.”
Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute, described an “unstable status quo” of sanctions and blockade, and said a likely outcome is that “Trump walks away and claims to retain the blockade and sanctions infrastructure.” Negar Mortazavi, a senior non-resident fellow at the Center for International Policy, said the Republican defeat in the midterms “dramatically raised the political cost of more escalation.”
Trump’s own words at Arlington offered something to each camp: “total victory” for those who want more pressure, and “it will be soon” for those who want a deal.
The Iran US talks tracker follows the diplomatic track day by day.
Analysis
Can a caretaker government in Israel go to war?
Section 40 of Israel’s Basic Law: The Government says a decision to go to war, or to launch a major operation likely to lead to war, needs the approval of the government or of the security cabinet. Netanyahu’s caretaker cabinet holds that power until a new government wins a confidence vote; the Knesset sworn in on 10 November did not end his tenure.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid has said a caretaker government is “an administration intended to manage affairs until a new government takes office.” Former cabinet secretary Oved Yehezkel has said that claims of a categorical ban on caretaker governments going to war are too sweeping.
IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir was quoted in October as telling a private meeting: “We do not see any indications of a need to strike Iran before the election.” Netanyahu said reports of a clash with Zamir over action against Iran were “nonsense” and that “there was no fight.” Eisenkot, himself a former army chief, is the subject of our profile of the Yashar leader.
What to watch
The coalition vote. Each day Eisenkot moves closer to a confidence vote shortens the window in which Netanyahu’s cabinet can order a strike.
Washington’s reply. A public repeat of Rubio’s “no need for major combat operations” would tell Israel that US aircraft are not on offer.
The Vance channel. A date and a place for a meeting with Rezaei, or a fresh denial from Tehran, will show whether the talks exist.
Europe. A government that hosts US aircraft and asks Washington for assurances after Rezaei’s warning would show the threat has landed.
Our reading: the cabinet order is pressure on Washington as much as preparation for war, issued a day after Rubio said Washington sees no need for one.
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