Defense Minister Israel Katz said Monday evening that he instructed the IDF to prepare for the offensive codenamed 'Operation Blue and White' in Iran — a plan that enables independent Israeli action without American backing. Katz described the military as awaiting only the go-ahead.
At 18:49 Monday, Defense Minister Israel Katz said he instructed the IDF to prepare for 'Operation Blue and White' in Iran, emphasizing that the plan is designed to allow independent Israeli action without American backing. Katz described the military as awaiting only the go-ahead. This statement came minutes after a 18:34 bulletin in which The Zioneer reported Katz warning the operation could happen 'as soon as tomorrow' and naming the codename.
This marks the third time the codename was revealed in the thread. The first public mention of 'Operation White-Blue' was on Thursday June 18 at 22:33 Jerusalem, when Katz disclosed in a Channel 14 interview that the IDF had been ordered to prepare for the offensive immediately after the ceasefire with Iran took effect — then the most specific named-operation directive since the truce. On Monday at 18:01, Katz repeated the warning in a briefing to reporters, saying the IDF was instructed to prepare and that action could come as soon as Tuesday; The Zioneer's 18:06 dispatch from a senior IDF official corroborated that the military is preparing for independent action in Iran without US assistance.
As The Zioneer has reported in related briefings, Katz has for weeks stressed that the campaign against Iran is far from over and that the IDF maintains freedom of action — including against Hezbollah in Lebanon, where he reaffirmed a deterrence equation: any fire on northern communities will draw a strike on Beirut's Dahiyeh district.
What remains open: Katz did not specify a time frame beyond 'as soon as tomorrow' nor describe the scope or targets of the operation. No independent confirmation of operational readiness beyond Katz's and the senior officer's statements has been published, and the fragile ceasefire with Tehran remains the backdrop against which any such action would take place.
4 developments
- StrongDefense Minister Katz: IDF ordered to prepare for 'Operation White-Blue' in Iran
- DevelopingSenior IDF official says military preparing to operate independently in Iran soon
- DevelopingIsrael's Katz: Campaign against Iran far from over; IDF ready to strike Iran with great force
- StrongUS and Iran signal breakthrough on nuclear deal as Israel orders IDF to prepare for independent action
Source and signal
- Internal intake