Netanyahu Warns Iran of Far Harsher Response if Israel Is Attacked Again

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Iran that Israel would retaliate with far greater force if it was attacked again, as military tensions between the US and Iran persist over control of the Strait of Hormuz.

Speaking at an event in Dimona in the Negev desert on July 14, Netanyahu said Israel was prepared for every scenario.

"My message is clear," he said. "No one should expect to attack us and get away unharmed. Do not assume what happened in the past will happen again. It will not."

He added that Israel's previous response had been very strong, but any further attempt to harm the country would draw a much more intense response on a different scale.

On June 8, Israel struck a petrochemical facility in southwestern Iran in retaliation for an Iranian missile attack targeting Israel.

"The era when Israel could be attacked without paying a severe price is over," Netanyahu said, adding that Israel had proved that in confronting what he called Iran's "axis of evil" and would continue to respond firmly to any force seeking to harm it.

"That is how we have acted so far, and it is the principle we will maintain going forward," he said.

Shin Yong-hyun, Hankyung.com reporter, yonghyun@hankyung.com