Latest news with #IranHealthMinistry
The National
10 hours ago
- Politics
- The National
Tehran to 'pay the price': Israeli defence chief's latest threat to civilians
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said that 'residents of Tehran will pay the price' for Iran's bombing of Israeli cities, the latest instance in which he has threatened civilian populations since the Gaza war began. 'The boastful dictator from Tehran has turned into a cowardly murderer, firing targeted shots at the civilian rear in Israel to deter the [military] from continuing the attack that is collapsing his capabilities,' Mr Katz wrote on X on Monday. 'The residents of Tehran will pay the price, and soon,' he concluded. Mr Katz, a close ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has previously threatened residents of Gaza with 'total devastation' and that the country's armed forces would no longer differentiate 'between Lebanon and Hezbollah'. The latest statement about the Iranian capital adds to accusations that the Israeli military leadership is willing to strike civilians, even while many of its spokespeople and Israeli politicians maintain it does not. Iran's Health Ministry said that at least 224 people have been killed in Israeli strikes since Friday. The number of people killed in Israel is at 24, it says. The fighting shows no signs of abating and is prompting urgent calls for calm as the Middle East edges closer to a regional war. Mr Katz later played down the initial comments in a post released hours later: 'I wish to clarify the obvious: there is no intention to physically harm the residents of Tehran as the murderous dictator does to the residents of Israel.' In a further post on Monday, Mr Katz said a strike on the Iranian state broadcaster – which he accused of 'propaganda and incitement' – took place 'after a widespread evacuation of nearby residents'. But the minister's initial comments caused a backlash online, with TV host Piers Morgan writing in a post on X: 'Israel Minister of Defence makes no pretence of intent to target civilians in Iran. The very thing Israel – rightly – is enraged at Iran doing to its own civilians.' Mr Katz also blocked Israeli journalist Bar Shem-Ur who criticised his initial comments. 'Criticism in a democracy? Not with him,' wrote Mr Shem-Ur in a post on X. Israeli officials have faced a steady stream of international criticism since the Gaza war began, the most significant of which came from South Africa's genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, and the International Criminal Court issuing arrest warrants against Mr Netanyahu and Mr Katz's predecessor, Yoav Gallant. In the early days after the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel, Mr Gallant said he 'ordered a complete siege on the Gaza Strip' and made comments about fighting 'human animals'.
Washington Post
a day ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
The Latest: Iran launches a new wave of missile attacks on Israel as conflict enters fourth day
Iran fired a new wave of missile attacks on Israel early Monday, triggering air raid sirens across the country as emergency services reported at least five killed and dozens more wounded in the fourth day of open warfare between the regional foes that showed no sign of slowing. Powerful explosions, likely from Israel's defense systems intercepting Iranian missiles, rocked Tel Aviv shortly before dawn. Plumes of black smoke rose into the sky over the major coastal city. The latest salvo comes after a weekend of escalating tit-for-tat attacks between Israel and Iran that raised fears of a wider, more dangerous regional war. Iran on Sunday said Israel struck oil refineries, killed the intelligence chief of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard and hit population centers in intensive aerial attacks. ___ Here's the latest: The American Consulate in Tel Aviv suffered minor damage from the concussion of an Iranian missile landing nearby, U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee said on Monday. Huckabee said in a post on X there were no injuries to American personnel but that the consulate in Tel Aviv and Embassy in Jerusalem would remain closed through the day as a precaution. The damage came amid a new wave of Iranian missile attacks on Israel in retaliation for Israel's sweeping attacks on Iran's military and nuclear infrastructure. Iran's health ministry says 224 people have been killed since Israel's attack began Friday. Spokesman Hossein Kermanpour said on social media that 1,277 other people were hospitalized, and asserted that over 90% of the casualties were civilians. Israel has said 14 people have been killed there since Friday and 390 others wounded. The European Union's top diplomat will convene an emergency meeting of the 27-nation bloc's foreign ministers Tuesday to discuss the conflict between Israel and Iran. The meeting, to be held via video link, 'will provide an opportunity for an exchange of views, coordination on diplomatic outreach to Tel Aviv and Tehran, and possible next steps,' EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas' office said Sunday. 'We will continue to contribute to all diplomatic efforts to reduce tensions and to find a lasting solution to the Iranian nuclear issue which can only be through a negotiated deal,' it said. President Donald Trump vetoed a plan presented by Israel to the U.S. to kill Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to a U.S. official familiar with the matter. The Israelis informed the Trump administration in recent days that they had developed a credible plan to kill Khamenei. After being briefed on the plan, the White House made clear to Israeli officials that Trump was opposed to the Israelis making the move, according to the official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment on the sensitive matter. The Trump administration is desperate to keep Israel's military operation aimed at decapitating Iran's nuclear program from exploding into an even more expansive conflict and saw the plan to kill Khamenei as a move that would enflame the conflict and potentially destabilize the region.
