TEL AVIV/TEHRAN – Iran launched a wave of missile strikes against Israeli cities early Monday, retaliating after Israeli forces carried out overnight attacks on military targets deep inside Iran. The exchanges mark the most intense military confrontation between the longtime adversaries to date, raising fears of a wider Middle East conflict.
The strikes left residential buildings gutted in Tel Aviv and fires burning near Haifa, while air raid sirens and missile defence systems activated across Israeli cities. Loud explosions were heard in Jerusalem as Israeli air defences intercepted several incoming rockets.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards claimed “successful” strikes and vowed more “targeted and devastating operations”. Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency service confirmed five deaths and 92 injuries from the latest barrage.
Escalation After Israeli Strikes on Iran
The Iranian attack follows Israeli airstrikes in central Iran, reportedly aimed at surface-to-surface missile sites. Tehran says the strikes killed at least 224 people and wounded over 1,200, with some of the dead being civilians, according to the Iranian Health Ministry.
State media in Iran confirmed at least five deaths in a strike on a residential building in central Tehran. Iranian officials condemned Israel’s actions as war crimes.
“Leave the occupied territories because they will certainly no longer be habitable in the future,” said Colonel Reza Sayyad, spokesman for Iran’s armed forces, in a televised warning to Israel.
Leaders Trade Threats
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Iran of deliberately targeting civilians.
“Iran will pay a very heavy price for the premeditated murder of civilians, women and children,” he said while visiting a damaged residential area near Tel Aviv.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, addressing parliament, called on Iranians to stand firm:
“Stand strong against this genocidal criminal aggression with unity and coherence.”
Despite fears, some Iranian citizens, like Shokouh Razzazi, 31, vowed to remain.
“It is natural that war has its own stress, but I will not leave my city,” she told AFP.
Trump Weighs In
Former U.S. President Donald Trump urged both sides to reach a diplomatic resolution but acknowledged:
“Sometimes they have to fight it out.”
While Trump denied U.S. involvement in Israel’s strikes, a senior U.S. official told AFP that Washington intervened to prevent Israel from assassinating Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“President Trump was against it and we told the Israelis not to,” the official said.
Iran, meanwhile, cancelled planned nuclear talks with the U.S., calling diplomacy “meaningless” under fire. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi claimed to have “solid proof” of U.S. support for the Israeli attacks.
Tit-for-Tat Responses and Intelligence Operations
In a further sign of deteriorating relations, Iran executed a man convicted of spying for Israel’s Mossad. Israel also announced it had arrested two individuals over alleged ties to Iranian intelligence.
As both nations vow further retaliation, the prospect of de-escalation appears increasingly uncertain. Observers warn that without restraint, the situation could ignite a broader regional war.
