{"id":10086,"date":"2025-06-16T11:40:03","date_gmt":"2025-06-16T06:40:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.asiafreepress.com\/?p=10086"},"modified":"2025-06-16T11:40:07","modified_gmt":"2025-06-16T06:40:07","slug":"israel-warns-tehrans-residents-will-pay-the-price-soon-as-toll-rises-after-tel-aviv-haifa-attacks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.asiafreepress.com\/en_gb\/security\/israel-warns-tehrans-residents-will-pay-the-price-soon-as-toll-rises-after-tel-aviv-haifa-attacks\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel warns Tehran\u2019s residents will \u2018pay the price soon\u2019 as toll rises after Tel Aviv, Haifa attacks"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Israel\u2019s Defence Minister Israel Katz threatened on Monday that the residents of Tehran will \u201cpay the price and soon\u201d after Iranian missiles struck Tel Aviv and the port city of Haifa before dawn, killing at least five people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The latest military exchange between the arch-rivals began when Israel struck Iran\u2019s nuclear and military sites on Friday, killing top commanders and scientists. Tel Aviv has said it wants to stop Tehran from building an atomic weapon, which the latter has consistently denied, saying its uranium enrichment programme is for civilian purposes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe residents of Tehran will pay the price, and soon,\u201d Katz wrote on X, as the missile exchange continued for a fourth day, fuelling concerns among world leaders at this week\u2019s G7 meeting that the battle between the two old enemies could lead to a broader regional conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Israel\u2019s military warned on Monday of a new missile salvo incoming from Iran, as&nbsp;<em>AFP<\/em>&nbsp;journalists reported loud explosions in Jerusalem and fires outside the coastal city of Haifa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cA short while ago, the IDF identified missiles launched from Iran toward the territory of the State of Israel,\u201d the army posted on Telegram, using the acronym for its official name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It said its air defences were working to intercept the threat but advised people to \u201center a protected space and remain there until further notice\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>An&nbsp;<em>AFP<\/em>&nbsp;journalist heard loud explosions in Jerusalem on early Monday, while footage showed Israeli air defences working over the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to&nbsp;<em>Reuters<\/em>, British maritime security firm Ambrey said that fires were observed at the power plant in the vicinity of Israel\u2019s Haifa port.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ambrey said it observed video footage of the Israeli military intercepting the attack, followed by impacts from two hypersonic missiles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Outside Haifa, an&nbsp;<em>AFP<\/em>&nbsp;journalist saw fires break out following the latest Iranian barrage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Israel\u2019s public broadcaster,\u00a0<em>Kan<\/em>, reported that at least four areas were hit in the latest Iranian attacks on central Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"jeg_video_container jeg_video_content\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Iran launches new wave of strikes against Israel\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/NQqg0eHZOio?start=3&#038;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Twenty-nine people have been wounded and evacuated following Iran\u2019s latest attacks,&nbsp;<em>Al Jazeera<\/em>&nbsp;reported, citing Israel\u2019s ambulance and blood bank service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Three of the wounded are in a moderate condition, and 26 have minor injuries, it added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A senior US official said on Sunday that US President Donald Trump told Israel to back down from a plan to kill Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei,&nbsp;<em>Reuters<\/em>&nbsp;reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Israel has claimed strikes as far away as Mashhad in Iran\u2019s far east, 2,300 kilometres (1,430 miles) from Israel. Iranian state television reported at least five people were killed on Sunday by an Israeli strike that hit a residential building in downtown Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Colonel Reza Sayyad, a spokesman for Iran\u2019s armed forces, threatened a \u201cdevastating response\u201d to Israel\u2019s attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cLeave the occupied territories (Israel) because they will certainly no longer be habitable in the future,\u201d he warned in a televised address, adding shelters will \u201cnot guarantee security\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The death toll in Iran has risen to 224, including 70 women and children. The intelligence chief of Iran\u2019s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and two other generals were killed in Israeli attacks on Sunday,&nbsp;<em>Al Jazeera<\/em>&nbsp;reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to&nbsp;<em>AFP<\/em>, residential areas in both countries have suffered deadly strikes since the hostilities broke out, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slamming Iran on Sunday for allegedly targeting civilians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIran will pay a very heavy price for the premeditated murder of civilians, women and children,\u201d he said, during a visit to the site of a missile strike on a residential building in the coastal city of Bat Yam, near Tel Aviv.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>His remarks came hours after Iranian missile fire killed at least 10 people, according to authorities, pushing the death toll in Israel up to 13 since Iran began its retaliatory&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1917020\">strikes<\/a>&nbsp;Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Meanwhile, a likely Iranian drone killed a woman in Syria, a Britain-based war monitor said, in what would be the first death on Syrian soil since the current hostilities between Iran and Israel began, reported&nbsp;<em>AFP.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The drone struck the woman\u2019s home in western Tartus province, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Israeli military said early on Monday that it was striking surface-to-surface missile sites in central Iran, adding it was \u201coperating against this threat in our skies and in Iranian skies\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1917457\/israel-warns-tehrans-residents-will-pay-the-price-soon-as-toll-rises-after-tel-aviv-haifa-attacks#i-will-not-leave\"><\/a>\u2018I will not leave\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A heavy cloud of smoke hung above Tehran after Israeli aircraft struck two fuel depots. Local media also reported an Israeli strike on the police headquarters in the city centre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe haven\u2019t been able to sleep since Friday because of the terrible noise,\u201d said a Tehran resident who gave her name as Farzaneh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cToday, they hit a house in our alley, and we were very scared. So we decided to leave Tehran and head to the north of the country.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some, however, were determined to stay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt is natural that war has its own stress, but I will not leave my city,\u201d Shokouh Razzazi, 31, told&nbsp;<em>AFP.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>AFP<\/em>&nbsp;images from the Israeli city of Haifa, meanwhile, also showed a column of smoke rising on Sunday evening following an Iranian missile barrage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The military said rescue teams \u201chave been dispatched to several hit sites in Israel\u201d, while the fire services reported rescuers heading to a building on the coast that sustained a \u201cdirect hit\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Earlier in the day, in Bat Yam, first responders wearing helmets and headlamps picked through a bombed-out building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThere was an explosion and I thought the whole house had collapsed,\u201d said Bat Yam resident Shahar Ben Zion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt was a miracle we survived.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1917457\/israel-warns-tehrans-residents-will-pay-the-price-soon-as-toll-rises-after-tel-aviv-haifa-attacks#make-a-deal\"><\/a>\u2018Make a deal\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Trump said Washington \u201chad nothing to do\u201d with Israel\u2019s bombing campaign but threatened to unleash \u201cthe full strength and might\u201d of the US military if Iran attacked American interests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On Sunday, he urged the two foes to \u201cmake a deal\u201d, adding, however, that \u201csometimes they have to fight it out\u201d first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A senior US official told&nbsp;<em>AFP<\/em>&nbsp;that Trump had urged Israel to drop a plan to assassinate Khamenei.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe found out that the Israelis had plans to hit Iran\u2019s supreme leader. President Trump was against it, and we told the Israelis not to,\u201d said the US official, speaking on condition of anonymity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Donald Trump told&nbsp;<em>ABC News<\/em>&nbsp;on Sunday that he would be \u201copen\u201d to his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, being a mediator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s possible we could get involved\u201d in the ongoing battle in the Middle East, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, seemingly contradicting his ally, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that American pilots were shooting down drones headed towards Israel. In the same interview, he also said that he and Trump were \u201cfully co-ordinated\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Asked in an interview with&nbsp;<em>Fox News<\/em>&nbsp;whether&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1917243\">regime change<\/a>&nbsp;in Iran was one of the objectives of Israel\u2019s strikes, Netanyahu said that \u201cit certainly could be the result, because the Iran regime is very weak\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Iran\u2019s top diplomat Abbas Araghchi maintained Tehran had \u201csolid proof\u201d that US forces had supported Israel in its attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He also told a meeting of foreign diplomats that Iran\u2019s actions were a \u201cresponse to aggression\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIf the aggression stops, naturally our responses will also stop,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Iran scrapped planned nuclear talks with the United States, saying it was \u201cmeaningless\u201d to negotiate while under fire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Iranian media reported on Sunday that police had arrested two suspects over alleged links to Israel\u2019s Mossad spy agency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Israel, in turn, said it had taken two individuals into custody over alleged links to Iranian intelligence.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Israel\u2019s Defence Minister Israel Katz threatened on Monday that the residents of Tehran will \u201cpay the price and soon\u201d after Iranian missiles struck Tel Aviv and the port city of Haifa before dawn, killing at least five people. The latest military exchange between the arch-rivals began when Israel struck Iran\u2019s nuclear and military sites on [&hellip;]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":10088,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[80,396,73],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10086","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asia","category-latest","category-security"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.asiafreepress.com\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10086"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.asiafreepress.com\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.asiafreepress.com\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asiafreepress.com\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asiafreepress.com\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10086"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.asiafreepress.com\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10086\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asiafreepress.com\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10088"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.asiafreepress.com\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10086"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asiafreepress.com\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10086"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asiafreepress.com\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10086"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}