IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir issued a warning on Sunday that Israel is prepared to strike its enemies “wherever required, on near and distant fronts alike,” remarks widely understood as a signal that military action against Iran may again be imminent.

Speaking at a changeover ceremony for the head of the IDF Planning Directorate, Zamir placed Iran squarely at the center of Israel’s current security doctrine, calling the campaign against Tehran the core front of “the longest and most complex war in Israel’s history.”

“At the center of this war stands the campaign against Iran,” Zamir said, referring to the multifront conflict that erupted on October 7, 2023, with Hamas’s massacre in southern Israel and quickly expanded to include Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, Iranian-backed militias in Iraq, and Iran itself.

“Iran is the one that financed and armed the ring of strangulation around Israel and stood behind the plans for its destruction,” Zamir said.

His comments came one day after NBC News reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to present plans for a potential new strike on Iran to U.S. President Donald Trump during his upcoming visit to Washington. According to the report, Israeli officials are increasingly alarmed by intelligence indicating that Iran is rebuilding—and possibly expanding—its ballistic missile production following the 12-day war between the two countries in June.

While Israel has long described Iran’s nuclear program as an existential threat, officials cited in the report said Jerusalem currently views Iran’s ballistic missile arsenal as the more immediate danger. “The nuclear weapons program is very concerning. There’s an attempt to reconstitute. [But] it’s not that immediate,” one source with knowledge of Israel’s plans told NBC News.

“The threat of the missiles is very real, and we weren’t able to prevent them all last time,” another source said.

Israeli and former U.S. officials told NBC that Iran could ramp up ballistic missile production to as many as 3,000 missiles per year if left unchecked, a development that would dramatically alter the strategic balance.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday that Tehran has already rebuilt facilities damaged in the Israeli strikes and is prepared for renewed fighting. Speaking to Russia Today, Araghchi claimed the Islamic Republic was “fully prepared” for another confrontation.

“We have reconstructed everything that was damaged in the previous aggression,” he said, according to Iran’s ISNA news agency. “If they want to repeat the same failed experience, they will not achieve a better result.”

Araghchi acknowledged that Iran’s facilities had been “seriously” damaged but insisted that the country’s technological capabilities and resolve remain intact. He reiterated Iran’s claim that its nuclear program is peaceful, arguing that Tehran is open to negotiations but will not accept “dictation.”

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