Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz has issued one of his starkest threats yet against Iran, warning that any Iranian attack on Israel would remove what he described as all existing restraints on an Israeli response.
And his warning goes far beyond military targets.
Katz said Israel would strike Iranian national, military and civilian infrastructure—including energy infrastructure and threatened to push the country “deep into the Stone Age and darkness.”
The statement comes as tensions between the United States and Iran have surged again, raising fears that another confrontation could rapidly expand across the Middle East.
“No more restrictions”
Speaking to Defense Ministry personnel in Tel Aviv, Katz argued that Iran’s mounting economic pressure and fears of domestic unrest could push Tehran toward what he called “desperate measures.”
His message was unmistakably threatening:
If Iran attacks Israel, Israel will respond without what Katz described as its previous constraints.
He said Israel would target “all” national, military and civilian infrastructure, explicitly including the energy sector.
That would potentially put some of Iran’s most critical infrastructure in the crosshairs—not merely its military installations.
A threat to take the conflict beyond the battlefield
Katz’s warning represents a dangerous escalation in rhetoric because it explicitly extends the threatened response to civilian and energy infrastructure.
Such infrastructure is fundamental to everyday life and the functioning of an economy.
Destroying power, fuel and other essential systems would not simply weaken Iran’s military capabilities. It could inflict enormous consequences on the country’s civilian population and economy.
Katz nevertheless insisted that Israel is prepared for both defensive and offensive operations and that the Israel Defense Forces are ready to act.
The region is already on the edge
The threat comes at an exceptionally volatile moment.
The United States and Iran have exchanged fresh attacks after a period of reduced hostilities, while Iran has launched missile and drone attacks against U.S. positions in the region. At the same time, tensions around the Strait of Hormuz have disrupted energy markets and sent oil prices higher.
Against this backdrop, Katz’s warning risks adding another explosive layer to an already widening confrontation.
Iran does not need much encouragement to retaliate.
Israel does not appear interested in showing weakness.
And Washington remains directly involved.
That is precisely what makes the threat so dangerous.
From deterrence to devastation?
Katz framed the threat as deterrence: attack Israel, and the consequences will be devastating.
But the language goes far beyond conventional deterrence.
Threatening to return an entire country to the “Stone Age” and explicitly naming civilian and energy infrastructure sends a message that any future Iranian attack could trigger a response aimed not only at Iran’s military capability, but at the country’s broader national infrastructure.
That raises the stakes dramatically.
Because once critical civilian infrastructure becomes part of the threatened battlefield, escalation becomes much harder to control.
The Middle East does not need another wider war
The region is already paying the price of confrontation.
Oil markets are reacting to renewed instability. Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains severely disrupted. Iran is under unprecedented economic pressure, while Israel and the United States continue to prepare for further military escalation.
Katz’s warning therefore lands at the worst possible moment.
A single missile.
A single miscalculation.
A single decision in Tehran or Tel Aviv.
And the confrontation could move from another exchange of strikes into a much wider regional war.
For now, Katz’s message is clear:
Attack Israel, and Israel says it will hit back—not only at Iran’s military, but at the infrastructure that keeps the country running.
The real question is whether this is deterrence designed to prevent the next war—
or rhetoric that brings the region one step closer to one.
