Since the beginning of this week, news reports on the Iranian threat have revealed a pattern that cannot be dismissed as isolated incidents. From Tehran’s public bravado to shadowy cyber mobs and outright propaganda, Iran is pressing its campaign against Israel and against Jews abroad.
At a Mossad awards ceremony this week, the Mossad director issued a direct assessment of Tehran’s intentions. He said that “Iran still seeks Israel’s destruction despite nuclear setbacks” and warned against accommodating Tehran’s nuclear ambitions without looking at its broader conduct.
Iran's continued threats against Israel
Iran’s posture in recent days underscores that reality in multiple arenas. A reported Iranian-linked hacker group that claims to have “hacked the phone of a former prime minister” shows how Tehran’s proxies are targeting Israeli public figures and democratic leaders.
At the same time, reports reveal that Iran-linked hackers have put “bounties for info on Israeli air defense developers,” openly encouraging the targeting of those who protect the nation’s skies.
Iran’s influence is also seen in the propaganda it helps amplify. In Tehran’s Palestine Square, a banner reading “Nahariya, get ready” was displayed, a threat leveled at an Israeli city as if war were a slogan on a billboard.
On social media, Iran-linked networks and aligned activists spread hostility and misinformation. One report notes that the son of a former Iranian ambassador posted an antisemitic message hours before a mass shooting in Australia, linking toxic ideology to real-world violence.
The broader pattern is unmistakable: intimidation, violence, incitement, and a willingness to leverage technology to spread fear. When a foreign regime’s proxies target civilians in Australia, attempt to breach the devices of Israeli leaders, and celebrate violence online, that regime should be treated as a hostile actor, not a benign neighbor.
Israel’s leadership is not blind to this reality. At the Mossad ceremony this week, the director’s warning that Iran continues to work to “maneuver the world into another bad nuclear agreement” should be interpreted in full context: Tehran’s malign strategy is comprehensive.
This is why credible intelligence and covert capabilities matter. As we speak, Israel maintains intelligence assets and covert operations aimed at monitoring Iranian actions and preempting those that would harm Israelis or Jews abroad.
These measures are part of a broader strategy of deterrence and defense, not of arbitrary aggression.
Iran must understand that the free world is not impotent in the face of its provocations. When Iranian-linked hackers offer bounties on Israeli engineers, when Tehran’s banners threaten Israeli cities, and when state-affiliated groups target Jews, there should be consequences that are tangible, coordinated, and sustained.
This does not mean unrestrained escalation. It means strategic pressure calibrated to change behavior. It means isolating Tehran economically and diplomatically. It means naming Iranian actions for what they are: hostile acts by an extremist regime. It means strengthening Israel’s defenses, intensifying cyber cooperation with partners, and ensuring that Jewish communities are protected by real resources, not platitudes.
When democracies treat each Iranian outrage as a separate puzzle, they miss the bigger picture: Iran’s ecosystem of aggression. This ecosystem has multiple parts: the IRGC and its overseas network, cyber cells, propaganda organs, and financial conduits supporting militias from Beirut to Damascus, and from Baghdad to Tehran’s digital influence factories.
Israel’s response must match the complexity of that ecosystem. Sanctions should strike at the heart of Iran’s networks, not just its surface shell. Enforcement should be concrete, not symbolic.
Jewish security threatened by Iran
Jewish security should be treated as national security everywhere. The Bondi Beach massacre highlighted how Iranian-linked incitement and antisemitic violence can spill into diasporic communities. Israel cannot export security, but it can help enable stronger protection through intelligence sharing, training, and technology.
Iran’s leaders should hear this clearly: the world’s patience is not unlimited. The free world can endure criticism and dissent. What it will not endure without consequence is persistent targeting and harm to civilians. Iran can stop this escalation tomorrow. It can cease incitement, shutter its proxy networks, and respect the sovereignty of other nations.
That would alter the trajectory of its relations with the world.
But if Iran persists in its current path, the result will not be chaos at no cost. The result will be coordinated pressure, defensive responses that protect life and liberty, and an unwavering commitment by Israel and its partners to defend their citizens. The choice before Tehran is simple: stop exporting violence and hatred, or face unified resistance that sustains itself until behavior changes.