Israeli ambassador rejects calls for restraint after Iranian missile attacks

Israeli envoy to Washington says Israel will not tolerate attacks after Iran launched 11 ballistic missiles; warns Hezbollah against joining attack.

By World Israel News Staff

Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, said Israel would not tolerate Iran’s latest missile fire after Tehran launched 11 ballistic missiles at Israeli territory, sharply warning both Iran and Hezbollah against further escalation.

“Iran fired 11 ballistic missiles at Israel today,” Leiter wrote on X. “Each one of those missiles can level an entire neighborhood and kill hundreds. No self-respecting country in the world would tolerate such an attack, and neither will Israel.”

Leiter said Israel was already responding against Iran’s missile capabilities.

“Israel is now targeting Iranian surface-to-surface missile launch sites, as well as infrastructure facilities unrelated to the energy sector,” he said.

The statement came as Israel launched airstrikes on military targets in western and central Iran following the Iranian missile attack.

The IDF said the strikes targeted military assets belonging to the Iranian regime. Reports from Iran and international media described explosions in several cities, including Tehran, Isfahan, Karaj, Tabriz and Kermanshah.

President Donald Trump had urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to retaliate after the Iranian barrage, warning that another round of fighting could endanger US efforts to reach an agreement with Tehran.

The latest exchange marked the first direct Israel-Iran strikes since the April ceasefire and raised fears that a fragile regional truce could collapse. Iran’s missile barrage followed Israeli strikes in Beirut’s southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold, which Tehran said crossed “all red lines.”

“The people of Lebanon have rejected Iran’s proxy, Hizballah, and have told Iran to get out of their country,” Leiter wrote. “If Hizballah fires at Israel, its command centers in the Dahiya will be hit hard.”

“This has nothing to do with Iran,” he added. “Everyone has had enough of this maniacal Iranian regime.”

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said its missile fire was a warning to Israel over its operations in Lebanon. Iranian officials also warned that additional Israeli action could bring a broader response.

Israel, however, moved ahead with strikes on Iranian territory despite a push from Washington to prevent a wider war.

Trump told Israeli media that both sides had “done their part” and that further strikes were unnecessary. In a separate interview, he said Netanyahu would have “no choice” but to accept a US-brokered deal with Iran, adding, “I call the shots. I call all the shots. He doesn’t call the shots.”