Iran threatens to strike Tel Aviv if US targets Tehran

On Thursday, many cities in Israel opened their shelters, despite no changes in Home Front Command guidelines, to brace for possible escalation.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

As fighting and rhetoric escalated betweeen the US and Iran, Tehran threatened a strike on Tel Aviv if US forces should target Tehran and civilian infrastructure.

Two Iranian sources told The New York Times that if Trump follows through on threats to attack Tehran and critical infrastructure, Iran would expand the conflict by striking Tel Aviv and asking the Houthis in Yemen to close the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait.

During the first phase of the war, which began on February 28, the IDF participated in strikes on Iran as Tehran responded by launching hundreds of ballistic missiles at Israel. Israel has not taken part in the latest round of fighting, however, and Iran has not targeted the country in recent weeks.

On Thursday, many cities in Israel opened their shelters, despite no changes in Home Front Command warnings, to brace for possible escalation.

A day earlier, President Donald Trump threatened a “massive” operation in Iran that would surpass earlier efforts, and added that Israel would be ready to join “in two minutes,” before adding that he thought the US could do the fighting alone.

Iran rejected a new ceasefire proposal from President Donald Trump on Thursday night and US forces launched another night of strikes against Iranian military targets overnight into Friday after the president warned he was considering a “massive” attack.

Iranian sources also warned that any expanded US assault on Tehran would prompt strikes on Tel Aviv and a broader regional escalation.

The New York Times, citing Iranian and Iraqi officials, reported that Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi delivered President Trump’s ceasefire proposal to Tehran after meeting with the president at the White House earlier this month.

The report said Iran rejected the offer because it was not interested in a temporary agreement that left control of the Strait of Hormuz unresolved.

Hours later, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced it had begun a 13th consecutive night of strikes against Iran, targeting military headquarters, drone storage facilities, communication networks, coastal surveillance sites and naval capabilities.

CENTCOM said the operation was intended to reduce threats from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards to commercial shipping and civilian mariners in the Strait of Hormuz, adding that commercial vessels continue transiting the waterway with US military support.