Defense Minister Israel Katz issued a response to Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem on Friday morning, after the official from the Lebanon-based terror group said he offered "all forms of support" to Iran in its fight against Israel and the US.
"The Hezbollah Secretary-General is not learning a lesson from his predecessors and is threatening to act against Israel in accordance with the Iranian dictator's orders," he said in a post on X/Twitter. "I suggest that the Lebanese proxy be careful and understand that Israel has lost patience with terrorists who threaten it."
"If there will be further terror, there will be no Hezbollah," he concluded.
Qassem stated that Iran’s nuclear program and uranium enrichment efforts were intended for “peaceful purposes, which it seeks to serve and advance its people.”
“It does not harm anyone in the slightest way; rather, it represents a great scientific contribution to the advancement of Iran and the region, relying on its own capabilities without foreign tutelage,” he added.
Hezbollah's leader argued that the world doesn't want “Iran to be a beacon of faith, knowledge, and freedom that shines throughout the region and the world, and that would be beneficial to Iran and the oppressed.”
Qassem later accused US President Donald Trump's support for Israel, claiming that the US is causing "chaos and instability" in the region and said that the Islamic Republic of Iran "has the right to defend itself."
Other threats issued by the defense minister
Katz last addressed Hezbollah early last month, when he said that "what Israel did to Hezbollah in Beirut, it will do to the Iranian regime in Tehran."
On Thursday, Katz then threatened to directly assassinate Iranian Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in response to Iranian ballistic missiles striking Beersheba’s Soroka Medical Center.
The defense minister added that Israel will now start attacking new kinds of strategic targets in Iran “to remove the threats hanging over the State of Israel and to shake the Ayatollah’s regime.”
Shortly before Katz's statements on Friday morning, the Iranian Supreme Leader posted on X/Twitter that, "The Zionist enemy is being punished. It is being punished right now."
Yonah Jeremy Bob and Reuters contributed to this report.