Israel issues warning to Iran amid tit-for-tat strikes: ‘Tehran will burn'

The Hill

11 hours ago

Israel issued a stark warning to Iran on Saturday as the two Middle Eastern nations continued to exchange fire: Stop the strikes or 'Tehran will burn.'
'If [Iranian Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali] Khamenei continue to fire missiles at the Israeli home front, Tehran will burn,' Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz wrote on social platform X following a closed-door meeting, according to a translation.
'The Iranian dictator is making the residents of Tehran hostage to his criminal policies for the survival of his regime,' he added.
His comments come after Iran launched retaliatory drone and air strikes toward Israel Friday in response to the Israeli military's surprise attack a day earlier — which targeted Tehran's nuclear facilities and ballistic missile sites.
In the initial strike, several prominent officials were killed, including a close adviser of Khamenei, two top Iranian nuclear scientists, the commander and deputy commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the deputy commander in chief of Iran's armed forces.
In tit-for-tat exchange continued into Saturday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his military have vowed to cripple nuclear facilities under its Operation Rising Lion mission. Strikes overnight on Tehran killed about nine senior scientists tied to warfare developments in the Islamic republic, according to Israeli officials.
'9 senior scientists and experts responsible for advancing the Iranian regime's nuclear weapons program. All of the eliminated scientists and experts, eliminated based on intelligence, were key factors in the development of Iranian nuclear weapons,' The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) wrote in a post online. 'Their elimination is a significant blow to the regime's ability to acquire weapons of mass destruction.
Two other senior defense and intelligence officials were pronounced dead by the Iranian regime on Saturday, NBC News reported.
Civilians have not been shielded from violence, either, as 320 people were wounded in the round of attacks on Iran and 78 more killed due to continued air strikes, per the AP.
The IDF said it would continue to target East Azerbaijan and the Iranian cities of Kermanshah and Lorestan as Iran's counterattacks in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv persist. Explosions and sirens were blaring across the Jewish State overnight.
Two rockets were also launched from Gaza toward Israel, although there were no corresponding injuries, officials said.
Turbulence in the region has also put a damper on nuclear talks between Washington and Tehran. President Trump has sought to create a new agreement with Iran that would include dismantling its nuclear capabilities.
On Friday, Trump responded to Israel's surprise strike by urging the Iranian regime to come back to the negotiating table and make a deal.
'There has already been great death and destruction, but there is still time to make this slaughter, with the next already planned attacks being even more brutal, come to an end,' the president posted to Truth Social.
'Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left, and save what was once known as the Iranian Empire,' he added. 'No more death, no more destruction, JUST DO IT, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.'
Trump also suggested in a separate post that the moment was a 'second chance.'
Despite the pressure, Iran signaled that it could pull out of the upcoming nuclear talks, which are scheduled for Sunday in Oman.
The administration said earlier Friday that they were not involved in Israel's attack on Iran. Later in the day, however, the U.S. did begin to military shift assets and assist with shooting down incoming ballistic missiles.
Tehran has also warned that it will strike ships in the Red Sea if Britain, France or the U.S. engage in warfare.
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee (R), who remains in Israel, reflected on the overnight sirens that signaled air raids as several voices among Trump's allies have urged Trump to make a move on Iran.
'Been rough nite in Israel. Had to head to shelter 5 times during the nite. It's now Shabbat here. Should be quiet. Probably won't be,' Huckabee wrote Saturday on X. 'Entire nation under orders to stay near shelter.'
In another post, the former Arkansas governor issued a reminder to those who want the U.S. to stay out of the conflict.
'If you hear 'Israel is no concern to USA' remember 700,000 AMERICANS live in Israel. That is equivalent to a full House District,' he continued 'More Americans here than in any other country except Mexico! '
'Iran isn't just attacking Israel but your fellow Americans who live here,' he added.