WASHINGTON — Iran launched a fresh round of ballistic missile tests Monday — six months after its 12-day war with Israel — leading officials from the Jewish state to warn the Trump administration that Tehran may be rehearsing another attack.
Missile launches were seen in the cities of Tehran, Isfahan, Mashhad, Khorramabad and Mahabad, according to Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency. State-afilliated broadcaster Nournews also broadcast videos that appeared to show projectiles being fired.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that his government was “aware that Iran is conducting military exercises. We are monitoring this and making the necessary preparations.
“I want to make it clear to Iran,” Netanyahu added in a statement, “any action against Israel will be met with a very harsh response.”
Tehran launched more than 500 ballistic missiles at Israel during the June 13-June 24 war, killing 28 Israelis.
That conflict, which began with Israel’s “Operation Rising Lion” bombing campaign on Iranian nuclear and military sites, ended after President Trump ordered US strikes on three major nuclear facilities June 22 and followed that by pressing both combatants to agree to a cease-fire.
Half a year later, Iran is rejecting any notion that the theocratic regime would disarm — with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei telling reporters Monday that the continuance of the country’s missile program is non-negotiable.
“Iran’s defensive capabilities are by no means an issue that can be discussed,” he said.
Over the weekend, Israeli officials warned the US that the missile tests could provide cover for a new barrage targeting Tel Aviv, Axios reported Sunday.
“The chances for an Iranian attack are less than 50%, but nobody is willing to take the risk and just say it is only an exercise,” an Israeli source told the outlet.
Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Iran program said Monday that while missile tests are “nothing new in Iran,” the “strategic context” is cause for concern.
“The Islamic Republic’s high level of interest in missiles was underscored by the war in June, as they were the only element of its security architecture that proved effective,” Ben Taleblu said in a statement. “That’s why the regime continues to invest in these systems.”
Monday’s tests “highlight the need for the US and Israel to rapidly replenish their stocks of defensive missile interceptors,” added FDD senior director of govenment relations Tyler Stapleton.
“Iran’s recent round of ballistic missile tests underscores the determination of its Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps to replenish its weapon stockpiles, sourcing materials from China and others,” Stapleton said. “Despite Iranian claims that they have only acted defensively in the region, Iran has targeted dozens of US military installations with attacks in just the last year.”
Fragile cease-fire
Netanyahu is expected to meet with Trump next week, and is likely to raise Tehran’s reconstruction of its ballistic missile program and the danger of future strikes against Israel — as well as the Israel-Hamas cease-fire.
Since widespread fighting halted across the Gaza Strip in October, Hamas has made no effort to follow through on the next steps of the plan calling for their disarmament and handing over of power to an international security force (ISF).
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who recently returned from a trip to the Middle East, told NBC’s “Meet The Press” Sunday that while the Trump administration “deserves a lot of credit for getting a cease-fire … Hamas is not disarming; they’re rearming. Hamas is not abandoning power; they’re consolidating power.”
“They’re not being disarmed, there’s nobody coming over the horizon to disarm them,” Graham added. “So I would urge President Trump to meet with Prime Minister Bibi [Netanyahu] next week and come up with a plan. Put Hamas on a time clock.”
Meanwhile, the US is pushing forward with organizing the ISF and associated Gaza Peace Board, set to be headed by Trump himself. On Friday, US officials met with representatives from Egypt, Turkey and Qatar to discuss the next phase of the cease-fire plan.
However, Graham shed doubt on whether advancing to the next phase is even possible.
“I’m all for a stabilizing force, I’m all for a board of peace,” he said. “But you can’t have a board of peace, you can’t have a stabilizing force in Gaza until Hamas is disarmed.”
“If they don’t turn over their weapons and stop rearming [by] a date certain,” Graham added, “I would unleash Israel on them. That’s what I would do.”
