Tel Aviv, Dec 22 (IANS): Israel's military chief, Aviv Kochavi, has warned Iran that any attack against the Jewish state will be responded with a forceful attack.
"Lately, we've noticed a rise in Iranian threats against Israel," Kochavi said during a ceremony on Monday, referring to fears of Iranian retaliation to the recent death of an Iranian nuclear scientist who was allegedly assassinated by Israel.
Kochavi said that if Iran or Hezbollah, an Iran-backed Lebanese armed group and party, "will take action against the State of Israel, they will find themselves in a very costly endeavour".
"The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) will strike all those involved in activities against Israel or against Israeli targets, whether in part or in full, whether near or far.
"I say these things simply, clearly and with complete commitment: our retaliatory steps have been prepared and rehearsed. I advise our enemies not to test us," he said.
Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, head of the Iranian Defence Ministry's Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research and dubbed the "father of the Iranian bomb", was targeted in a terrorist attack in the city of Absard on November 27.
President Hassan Rouhani has blamed Israel for the scientist's killing.