Last week, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned that Israel could face a large-scale attack by Iran in the near future. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Gallant declared “the era of limited conflicts” over.

We operated for years under the assumption that limited conflicts could be managed, but that is a phenomenon that is disappearing. Today, there is a noticeable phenomenon of the convergence of the arenas.
—Yoav Gallant

In recent history, Israel has had to deal with attacks from its neighbors and from its own Arab population. Israel has been able to handle most of these as separate conflicts. But according to Gallant, there is a realistic possibility for these individual foes to band together.

Who is the mastermind? Gallant pointed the finger at Iran as the potential orchestrator.

Iran is the driving force in the convergence of the arenas. It transfers resources, ideology, knowledge and training to its proxies.
—Yoav Gallant

Gallant specifically pointed to recent Iranian sponsorship to groups such as:

• Hamas
• Palestinian Islamic Jihad
• Hezbollah
• The Syrian government
• Iran-backed militias within Syria

All are Iranian proxies the Islamic Republic uses to attack Israel. Hezbollah alone received $700 million from Iran. Gallant said the increasing financial dependency of these groups to Iran means Tehran could pressure them to take actions against Israel they otherwise wouldn’t take.

Will Israel retaliate? Gallant hinted that Israel could be forced into a clash:

We will not allow Iran to establish an Iranian army in Syria, we will not allow the Golan Heights to become Lebanon and we will not allow Syrian territory to be a springboard for advanced weapons heading to Lebanon.
—Yoav Gallant

He also pointed to Iran’s nuclear program as another sticking point.

Iran is closer than ever to reaching military nuclear capability. In the face of this threat, we must act in one of two ways: military action or a credible military threat.
—Yoav Gallant

Iran’s national interests include spreading its Islamic revolution worldwide and becoming the preeminent power in the Middle East. But its main goal is to conquer the Holy Land from the Israelis. To this point, Israel and Iran have not faced off against each other in direct war. But based on Gallant’s comments, this could soon change. If Iran were to instigate such a conflict, it would radically change the balance of power in the Middle East.

What the Trumpet said:

The most precious jewel of Iran’s plan is to conquer Jerusalem. This would then galvanize more of the Islamic world behind Iran and spread radical Muslim influence to many countries outside of the Middle East. It could lead to dangerous rioting and terror in Europe, Asia and even America.
—Gerald Flurry, Trumpet editor in chief, The King of the South