Israel Warns Iran Targets "Everyone" as West Asia Conflict Escalates

The Israeli military also mentioned that in the early hours of Thursday, it shot down an Iranian Yakovlev Yak-130 fighter jet and is continuing its operations targeting aerial defence systems and ballistic missile infrastructure inside Iran.

In an exclusive interview with IANS, IDF International Spokesperson Lt Ben Cohen said the ongoing campaign, named 'Operation Roaring Lion', was launched to neutralise what Israel describes as a major security threat posed by Iran.

"We began 'Operation Roaring Lion' on Saturday morning with the primary objective of targeting the Iranian terror regime and eliminating an existential threat to Israel and the entire world, which includes the ballistic missile programme, the Iranian desire to achieve and obtain a nuclear weapon, and the proxy network," Cohen said.

He added that over the past several days, the United States and Israel have continued coordinated strikes across Iranian territory. According to him, the operations have targeted multiple strategic installations, including ballistic missile facilities, air force assets and naval infrastructure.

While declining to provide details about possible future military actions, Cohen warned that Iran has demonstrated a willingness to escalate tensions across the region.

"I can tell you that the Iranian terrorist regime has made it very clear that they're willing to target everyone around them in the area and they've done so continuously over the last few days," he said, speaking to IANS.

Referring to the latest military developments, Cohen said Israeli forces had carried out a significant aerial engagement in recent hours.

"In recent hours, we had a historic moment when an IDF fighter jet shot down an Iranian Yak-130 fighter jet over Tehran, and we continue to target aerial defence systems within the Iranian terror regime, to target ballistic missile targets and to target other Iranian terror regime targets," he told IANS.

When asked whether Iran still retains the capacity and infrastructure to inflict widespread damage on Israel and how Tel Aviv is preparing to counter such threats, Cohen said Israel has learned from past attacks not to underestimate its adversaries.

"We've made one thing very clear, after the October 7 attack, that we can't afford to underestimate our enemies ever, truthfully. And so, as we continue to target Iranian ballistic missile programmes both by targeting their launchers and by targeting their strongholds where they hold their ballistic missiles, we understand that they still have the capability to target and harm Israel and specifically Israeli civilians -- one because they have ballistic missiles and second because they have the direct intent to target those civilians," he said.

Responding to a question on whether Israel anticipates a regime change in Iran and whether the situation could trigger further instability in the region, Cohen said the objective of the current military campaign remains clearly defined.

"The goal here is very clear. When we're speaking about 'Operation Roaring Lion', the goal is to eliminate an existential threat that the Iranian terrorist regime's military efforts pose. Those include the rapid building up of the ballistic missile array, those include the desire to fortify and hide their nuclear weapons programmes and eventually obtain a nuclear weapon, and those include the Iranian terrorist regime's efforts to put dangerous proxies on Israel's borders," he said.

"The goal of the operation is to eliminate that existential threat so that Iran cannot pose the same threat that it does today on the Israeli people and on the world at large," he added.

Cohen also referred to Israel's previous military operations against Iranian capabilities, stating that Israeli Intelligence had earlier concluded that Iran's nuclear programme posed an urgent danger.

"In last year's military operation, we understood that we had a ticking time bomb at hand," he said.

"We were prepared to make sure that the Iranian terrorist regime does not obtain a nuclear weapon and together with the United States Armed Forces, then as well, we struck a lot of nuclear weapons programmes," Cohen said.

He added that those earlier strikes had significantly slowed Iran's nuclear ambitions.

"We made sure that we're taking them back years and we're preventing them from obtaining that nuclear bomb in the immediate time frame that they could have. Since then, we've seen that the Iranian terrorist regime has continuously tried to fortify and hide their nuclear weapons programmes so that they can continue to advance them in the future, and we're working to make sure that they don't have the ability to do so," he said.

He further stated that Israel's initial strike during the operation eliminated several top Iranian military leaders, with a sole aim to "eradicate the security threat posed by Iran".

"When we took out on the initial strike of the operation, more than 40 senior commanders, the most senior of them being the Supreme Leader Khamenei, we had one goal and that's to take away from the security threat that the Iranian regime imposes on Israel and on the world and will continue to operate in any way that we need to in order to advance that goal," Cohen said.

Addressing speculation about possible political changes inside Iran, Cohen said that Israel's military campaign is focussed strictly on security objectives.

"The goal of the IDF's operation, the joint operations with the United States Armed Forces, is to eliminate an existential threat. We're striking military targets. Whatever happens inside Iran in the future has to do with them," he said.

- IANS