“We struck Iran and its axis, whose declared aim was our destruction,” chief of staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said at a military colleges change of command ceremony.

“We launched a preemptive war to remove an existential threat that had recently developed, before it became an actual threat.”

On June 13, Israel launched land and air strikes targeting senior Iranian military leaders, nuclear scientists, and politicians, while damaging or destroying Iranian air defenses and nuclear facilities.

Iran retaliated with missile and drone attacks on Israeli cities and military sites. On the ninth day of fighting, the United States bombed three Iranian nuclear sites. Iran then struck a US base in Qatar before a US-brokered ceasefire ended the conflict.

Zamir said the campaign in June sent a clear message that Israel “would not allow its enemies to become stronger with capabilities that will endanger its existence and will be willing to pay a heavy price to ensure its existence and future.”

“If necessary, we will know how to act again with precision, intensity and lethality.”

‘War not imminent’

Iran’s foreign minister, however, believes the war with Israel is over and another war is not imminent.

“As an international relations expert with 40 years of experience in this field, I do not believe (another) war is imminent,” Abbas Araghchi said on Thursday.

“However, the officials responsible for a possible war, the armed forces, and the government should not rely solely on my opinion,” Araghchi told the state TV when asked about the possibility of resumed war with Israel.

Less than a week into the 12-day conflict, Kayhan, a newspaper overseen by Supreme Leader Khamenei’s representative, wrote that ending the war required Israel’s complete destruction

After the 12-day conflict in June, both sides claimed victory, with Israel and Washington saying they had significantly degraded Iran’s missile and nuclear programs.

Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, have repeatedly referred to Israel over the years as a “cancerous tumor” that must be removed.