Israeli city sues Iran for $78 million over deadly missile attack

The city’s mayor traveled to New York to serve an Iranian diplomat with the lawsuit.

By World Israel News Staff

The Israeli city of Bat Yam is suing Iran for 250 million shekels (approximately $78.4 million) over a deadly June 2025 ballistic missile strike that destroyed an apartment building, killing nine residents and injuring hundreds of others.

The lawsuit was filed in a Jerusalem court, but Israeli law required that an Iranian government official be formally served with the legal documents. In an unusual operation, Bat Yam Mayor Tzvika Brot traveled to New York during the United Nations General Assembly to deliver the lawsuit directly to an Iranian representative.

The municipality translated the lawsuit into Farsi, and Brot joined Nitzana Darshan-Leitner, a senior attorney with the Shurat HaDin legal organization, which seeks to hold states and entities that support terrorism financially and legally accountable.

The two managed to approach an Iranian diplomat on a Manhattan street and present him with a copy of the lawsuit. The diplomat refused to engage with the Israelis after they identified themselves. However, Brot and Darshan-Leitner filmed themselves reading the contents of the legal document aloud to the Iranian representative, a step they believe will provide sufficient notice under Israeli law.

Iran has 60 days to respond to the lawsuit, according to the legal process. If it fails to do so, the court could issue a default judgment in Bat Yam’s favor.

Even if the municipality secures a favorable ruling, however, collecting the damages from the Iranian government could prove considerably more difficult.

According to a report by the Hebrew-language outlet Ynet, Bat Yam officials are hoping that frozen funds connected to a decades-old business arrangement between Israel and pre-Islamic Revolution Iran could eventually be used to cover the damages.

“They sent us missiles, and we sent them a bill. Their representative may have tried to get away from us on the streets of New York, but they will not escape responsibility for what they did to my city,” Brot said in a media statement.

Darshan-Leitner said the lawsuit was part of a broader effort to make Iran pay financially for its actions.

“It is time for the Iranians to pay for their actions. We will continue fighting on behalf of terror victims until we economically bring down the Ayatollahs’ regime,” she said.