ByYONAH JEREMY BOBJUNE 25, 2026 18:58Updated: JUNE 25, 2026 19:15Defense Minister Israel Katz on Thursday committed Israel to becoming the leading player with space attack capabilities."One of the central goals which the prime minister and I set is that we are recruiting the best minds," since "as of today, no country has the ability to mount attacks in space. We must be the leading country in the world with this capability," said Katz.The defense minister continued, "If we achieve this, it will ensure the advantage of deterrence, of the ability to attack, destroy, and all of the other matters, versus our enemies with large resources."Overall, it seemed clear that Katz was referring to Iran.This is especially true since, during the 2026 war, Israel struck multiple Iranian spacewar-related facilities, including facilities working on developing capabilities to attack satellites in space.Defense Minister Israel Katz, IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir and President Isaac Herzog attend a conference at the Jerusalem International Convention Center, June 17, 2026 (credit: OREN BEN HAKOON/FLASH90)It was unclear if he indirectly also wanted to deter Ruhttps://www.jpost.com/international/internationalrussia-ukraine-war/article-900534ssia and China from assisting Iran in this and other spheres.Other countries already have the capability for space attacksHowever, his statement that no country has these capabilities was not entirely accurate.Both Russia and China have performed test attacks on their own satellites in prior years and managed to destroy their test targets.However, each time a country caused the creation of perpetually rotating debris around Earth's orbit, it has endangered their still functioning satellites, along with other countries' satellites and space platforms.Some have already speculated that Israel could destroy enemy space satellites using the Arrow 3 missile system, given that it already strikes ballistic missiles in space.Yet, due to the same issue that Russia and China have already fallen into regarding debris, many countries are working on other techniques, such as paralyzing, damaging, jamming, dragging, or using lasers against satellites in space.While some Israeli officials have hinted at such efforts, Katz's public statement is the clearest one to date by a senior Israeli official.In contrast, if Iran or other enemies advanced past Israel in space, they could attack Israeli satellites and reduce their surveillance capabilities.Follow us on Google