Defense Minister Israel Katz addressed the Washington meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today (Tuesday) during an interview with Noam Amir at Channel 14’s Security Conference, clarifying that “the U.S. has interests in Iran that extend beyond those of Israel.”
Katz described Israel’s major achievements against Iran: “The arrogant empire that threatened to destroy Israel has collapsed,” while emphasizing: “We stated in the clearest possible way: if they fire at Israel, we will strike back with full force. We are prepared to hit Iran independently.”
Katz also revealed that Israel wants to strike energy targets in Iran, but the United States has not approved the operation. “We very much want to attack Iran’s energy targets—the U.S. is not currently approving it,” Katz said in the interview.
The defense minister’s remarks make clear that striking Iranian energy infrastructure remains on the table for Israel, but for now the required American authorization has not been granted.