Israel has claimed to have gained control of the skies over the Iranian capital and warned that “Tehran will burn” if more missiles are fired at its territory, but the Iranian leadership remained defiant, vowing a “more severe and powerful response” and threatened to widen the war by striking ships and bases of Israeli allies.
The mutual threats reflected the risks of a dramatic escalation in the conflict, as US-Iranian negotiations planned before the war in Oman were abandoned after Tehran said they would be “meaningless”, and Israel appeared to target Iran’s gas industry. Israeli rhetoric reflected its leaders’ growing confidence that they have gained the upper hand, and raised questions over whether Israeli war aims could go beyond the stated objective of crippling Iran’s nuclear programme.
The threat to destroy Tehran was delivered by Israel’s defence minister, Israel Katz, after Iran responded to the surprise Israeli attack on Friday morning with a barrage of several hundred ballistic missiles and drones, a small percentage of which succeeded in penetrating Israeli defences and killed three people in Tel Aviv and Rishon LeZion.
Katz, whose forces have already razed large parts of Gaza, held Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, responsible for Tehran’s fate.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/jun/14/uk-moves-jets-to-middle-east-as-starmer-refuses-to-rule-out-defending-israel
“The Iranian dictator is taking the citizens of Iran hostage, bringing about a reality in which they, and especially Tehran’s residents, will pay a heavy price for the flagrant harm inflicted upon Israel’s citizens,” Katz said. “If Khamenei continues to fire missiles at the Israeli home front, Tehran will burn.”
apnews.com
