The Media Line: Netanyahu: Iran and Hezbollah Cannot Impose a ‘New Equation’ on Israel  

Netanyahu: Iran and Hezbollah Cannot Impose a ‘New Equation’ on Israel  

By The Media Line Staff  

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that Israel would continue to respond militarily to attacks from Iran and Hezbollah, while reports from Israel and the United States described efforts by President Donald Trump to prevent further escalation and preserve a ceasefire.  

In a recorded statement, Netanyahu said Israel had acted against both adversaries after recent attacks and would reserve the right to respond to attacks: “Israel has the full right to self-defense, and we exercise it whenever necessary.”  

The prime minister said Hezbollah’s firing into Israeli territory prompted him to order the Israel Defense Forces to strike terrorist targets and Hezbollah operatives in Beirut. He said Iranian attacks on Israel were followed by Israeli strikes on military and economic targets across Iran.  

Addressing the latest hostilities, Netanyahu rejected what he described as an attempt by Tehran and Hezbollah to establish a new deterrence formula: “Over the past 24 hours, Iran and Hezbollah tried to impose a new equation on us. That equation is intolerable and completely unacceptable to me.”   

 “They thought they could fire from Lebanon and Iran at Israel and that we would not act. That did not happen, and it will not happen. Not on my watch!” he said.  

The current ceasefire followed Iran’s decision to halt ballistic missile attacks on Israel: “At the moment, the fire has ceased because after we struck the terrorist regime in Tehran, it stopped attacking us,” he said. “If the terrorist regime in Iran makes the mistake of attacking us again, we will respond with force.”  

The statement came after President Trump said Sunday night that he intended to urge Netanyahu not to launch additional strikes following an Iranian attack involving 11 barrages of missiles.  

“I am going to call Bibi right now and tell him not to retaliate. Each of them had their fun. Israel had its strike and Iran had its strike. We don’t need another one,” Trump said. “I don’t want to see an additional attack tonight.”  

According to Barak Ravid of N12, Washington was not informed in advance that Israel planned to strike Iran on Sunday night. President Trump told the network that Israel had notified the United States only after the operation was already underway.  

On Monday, Israel’s air force struck the Karoun petrochemical plant in Mahshahr, Iran, and other targets. Iran responded by launching additional missiles at Israel.  

Channel 12 reported that Netanyahu later approved a larger strike planned for Monday afternoon but canceled it after President Trump personally urged him to halt further military action. The network said the two leaders held several conversations following the Beirut strikes, Iran’s ballistic missile attacks on Israel, and Israel’s subsequent operations in Iran. According to the report, Netanyahu argued that Iran had violated Israeli sovereignty and required a response before agreeing to stop the planned operation.