‘Tehran will burn if attacks continue,’ warns Israeli defence minister as Iran vows harsher response

“If Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei continues to fire missiles at the Israeli home front, Tehran will burn,” Katz said, according to The Associated Press. He further cautioned that Iran would face a “heavy price” for harming Israeli civilians.

Katz’s remarks came after Iran launched a barrage of projectiles targeting Tel Aviv and Jerusalem in retaliation for Israeli airstrikes.

The assault penetrated Israel’s Iron Dome air defence system, killing at least three people and injuring dozens early Saturday.

Iran threatens Western forces, warns 'more severe' response

Tensions escalated dramatically as Tehran warned of wider consequences if Western powers intervene in support of Israel. Iran stated that it would target military bases of the United States, United Kingdom, and France in that event.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, in a phone call with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, said:

“The continuation of Zionist [Israeli] aggression will be met with a more severe and powerful response from the Iranian armed forces,” according to BBC, citing state media.

Netanyahu vows to destroy Iran’s capabilities

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his government was focused on dismantling both nuclear and missile threats emanating from Tehran.

“We cannot afford for them to be able to build production capabilities for 20,000 missiles, so we have taken action to destroy their production capabilities, and that's what the IDF is doing now,” Netanyahu said.

“We have paved a path to Tehran. In the very near future, you will see Israeli planes, the Israeli Air Force, our pilots, over the skies of Tehran.”

In a separate video message, he added: “We have dealt a very severe blow to Iran's main enrichment site and if necessary we will also hit it again.”

“There is a huge threat from ballistic missiles, we have taken action to destroy Iran's ballistic missile production capabilities.”

Israel’s Operation Rising Lion and Iran’s ‘Severe Punishment’

The hostilities intensified after Israel launched Operation Rising Lion in the early hours of Friday, targeting Iranian nuclear and military facilities. The preemptive strikes reportedly killed Iran’s top four security chiefs and inflicted heavy damage on key infrastructure, including the Natanz nuclear facility.

In response, Iran launched “Operation Severe Punishment,” firing over 100 drones and hundreds of ballistic missiles toward Israeli cities.

Explosions lit up the night skies over Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, reducing several buildings to rubble and causing more casualties.