'Tehran will burn': Israel vows further attacks on Iran if airstrikes continue
After a tense few days of exchanged blows, Israel and Iran have never appeared to close to the brink of war, ITV News' Ian Woods reports
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has said the people in Tehran will 'pay a heavy price' if Iran continues with its missile attacks, warning that the Iranian capital 'will burn.'
It comes after Iran bombarded Tel Aviv with hundreds of missiles overnight in retaliation for Israeli strikes on its nuclear bases.
Air raid sirens sounded out across Israel and its citizens were ordered to move into bomb shelters, as the attack began on Friday night.
The skies above Tel Aviv and Jerusalem were lit up throughout the night by incoming missiles, interceptor rockets and explosions, with both sides reporting casualties while threatening that more was to come.
A plume of smoke could be seen rising from central Tel Aviv amid the barrage, after at least one Iranian missile appeared to bypass the iron dome missile defence system.
Israel's paramedic service said two people were killed and another 19 people were injured after Iranian missiles struck the central Israeli city of Rishon LeZion on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the Israeli Defence Forces has said it is continuing to airstrikes on targets in Iran, just over 24 hours since it's initial strike which the army claims killed three Iranian military commanders.
Tensions between Israel, the US and Iran have escalated in recent weeks, amid negotiations over the Iran nuclear deal, which is aimed at preventing the country from developing nuclear weapons.
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu stressed his country's fight was not against the Iranian people.
"Our fight is against the murderous Islamic regime that oppresses and impoverishes you," he said.
"The regime does not know what hit them, or what will hit them. It has never been weaker. This is your opportunity to stand up and let your voices be heard."
Operation Rising Lion – the offensive against Tehran – has mainly targeted nuclear sites, including destroying the above ground section of Iran's main Natanz nuclear base.
Some 78 people were killed and more than 320 wounded in Iran, according to its ambassador to the UN.
The attack is believed to be the most significant Iran has faced since its war with Iraq in the 1980s.
Netanyahu said 'more is on the way' in a video message released on Friday night.
Danny Dannon, Israel's UN ambassador, claimed the operation was launched because Iran was 'within days' of having the capability of building nuclear weapons.
Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, vowed revenge against Israel in a recorded message on Friday, saying: 'We will not allow them to escape safely from this great crime they committed.'
Tehran has warned the US, the UK and France not to help Israel stop Iran's strikes, according to Iranian state media.
Israel's attack came after years of threats and days of heightened speculation – but without the United States' blessing.
Donald Trump's administration, which has been working to persuade Iran to give up its uranium enrichment programme, stressed that Israel acted unilaterally and that Washington was 'not involved'.
It comes after the president wrote on his Truth Social platform on Friday that he had given Iran a "60 day ultimatum" two months ago to "make a deal", warning them "it would be much worse than anything they know" if they failed to do so.
"Certain Iranian hardliner's spoke bravely, but they didn't know what was about to happen. They are all DEAD now, and it will only get worse... Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left," he added.
In a statement carried by the state-run IRNA news agency, Abbas Araghchi, Iran's minister of foreign affairs, claimed Israel's strikes were the 'result of the direct support by Washington". There was no immediate word from the White House after Araghchi's comments.
The US and Iran were scheduled to meet in Oman on Sunday for their sixth round of indirect talks over Iran's nuclear program, but Israel's attack raised doubts about whether the negotiations would proceed.
Meanwhile, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has reiterated the need to 'de-escalate' the conflict between Israel and Iran, having spoken to Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, on Saturday afternoon.
'They discussed the gravely concerning situation in the Middle East and agreed on the need to de-escalate,' a Downing Street spokesperson said.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy was expected to spend the day in talks with counterparts across the Middle East and elsewhere.
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