Ghalibaf adviser says Israel nearing ‘zero hour’ for confrontation with Iran

Signs of a potential military confrontation between Iran and Israel have intensified, an Iranian official said late on Wednesday.

Mehdi Mohammadi, an adviser to Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, warned that the two sides are moving closer to a “zero hour.”

“The signs of military confrontation, particularly between Iran and the Israeli regime, have noticeably intensified,” Mohammadi wrote on his Telegram channel Wednesday.

He pointed to what he described as increased enemy flights over Iraq, movements in occupied territories and military preparations designed to provide maximum flexibility for different scenarios.

“The enemy has moved closer to ‘zero hour,’” he wrote.

Israeli jets flew to Iran border

Axios reported on Wednesday that "dozens" of Israeli fighter jets flew as far as Iran’s border Monday in a large-scale operation intended to project military power and deter Tehran.

Axios cited Israeli and US officials. The exercise involved fighter jets and refueling aircraft that flew more than 800 miles from Israel along a route consistent with a potential strike on Iran, passing through Syrian and Iraqi airspace, according to the report.

US officials said Israel knew Iranian air defenses would detect the aircraft. Some US sources told Axios they had the impression Israel hoped Iran would fire at the jets, potentially providing justification for Israeli strikes.

Other Israeli and US officials described the sortie as not unusual and said it was intended as a deterrent.

Mohammadi said the main challenges facing Israel were intelligence, operational and strategic, including gaining sufficient intelligence on targets, maintaining access to them and controlling the timing, location and consequences of a potential war.

He also said Israel would not necessarily wait to resolve those challenges before acting, warning that a miscalculation or an impulsive decision could trigger a new confrontation.

On Wednesday, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf met Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei to review developments in Iran’s conflict with the United States and Israel and to signal political coordination at a time of military, economic, and information pressure.

The meeting was reported by Iranian state-linked outlets and picked up by international media, as per Roya News.

According to the readouts, Ghalibaf and Khamenei discussed the latest developments in what Iranian officials described as “military, economic and cognitive warfare” waged by the United States and Israel.

They also stressed strengthening Iran’s “elements of power,” preserving social cohesion and national unity, and sustaining public mobilization in support of the Islamic establishment.