Israel says Tehran residents to ‘pay price’ after Iran stikes on Tel Aviv, Haifa
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TEL AVIV – Iranian missiles struck Tel Aviv and port city Haifa in Israel before dawn on June 16, killing at least eight people and destroying homes, prompting Israel’s defence minister to warn that Tehran’s residents would “pay the price and soon”.
The Israeli military said only seven missiles of the fewer than 100 fired by Iran overnight landed in Israel.
At least 100 were wounded in the overnight blitz, part of a wave of attacks by Tehran in retaliation for Israel’s strikes targeting Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.
In total, 24 people in Israel have been killed so far in the Iranian missile attacks.
The dangers of further escalation loomed over a meeting of Group of Seven (G-7) leaders in Canada, with US President Donald Trump expressing hope on June 15 that a deal could be done even though there has been no sign of the fighting abating.
Search-and-rescue operations were under way in Haifa. Fires were seen burning at a power plant near the main port.
Video footage showed several missiles over Tel Aviv, and explosions could be heard in the city and over Jerusalem.
Several residential buildings in a densely populated neighbourhood of Tel Aviv were destroyed in a strike that blew out the windows of hotels and homes just a few hundred metres from the US embassy.
The US ambassador said the building sustained minor damage but there were no injuries to personnel.
Mr Guydo Tetelbaun, 31, a chef, said he was in his apartment in Tel Aviv when the alerts came in early in the morning.
“As usual, we went into the (shelter) that’s right across the street there, and within minutes the door of the (shelter) blew in,” he added.
“A couple of people came in bloody, all cut up. Then when we came to the apartment, after it quietened down, we saw there wasn’t much of it... Walls are caved in, no more glass,” he noted.
“It’s terrifying because it’s so unknown. This could be the beginning of a long time like this, or it could get worse, or hopefully better, but it’s the unknown that’s the scariest,” he said.
The predawn missiles struck near Shuk HaCarmel, a popular market in Tel Aviv that typically draws large crowds to buy fresh fruit and vegetables, and visit bars and restaurants.
A residential street in nearby Petah Tikva and a school in ultra-Orthodox Jewish city Bnei Brak were also hit.
‘New method’
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said the latest attack employed a new method that caused Israel’s multi-layered defence systems to target one another.
“The initiatives and capabilities used in this operation, despite the comprehensive support of the United States and Western powers and the possession of the most up-to-date and newest defence technology, led to the successful and maximum hitting of the missiles on the targets in the occupied territories,” it added.
The death toll in Iran has reached at least 224, an Iranian Health Ministry spokesman said.
The Israeli military, which launched the attacks on June 13
It earlier warned Iranians living near weapon facilities to evacuate, as its air force attacked surface-to-surface missile sites in central Iran.
“Iran will pay a heavy price for the murder of civilians, women and children,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said from a balcony overlooking blown-out apartments where six people were killed in Bat Yam, a town south of Tel Aviv.
In response, Iran vowed on June 16 to carry out more “devastating” operations against Israeli targets.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, in a statement quoted by the official Irna news agency, warned that “effective, targeted and more devastating operations against the vital targets” in Israel “will continue until its complete destruction”.
It later announced that it “successfully” struck Israel on June 16 with a salvo of missiles, as Israeli rescuers reported four deaths and damage to residential buildings in multiple cities.
The latest exchange comes as G-7 leaders began gathering in the Canadian Rockies
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he hoped a meeting of the G-7 leaders
He added that his goals for the summit include for Iran to not develop or possess nuclear weapons, ensuring Israel’s right to defend itself, avoiding escalation of the conflict and creating room for diplomacy.
“This issue will be very high on the agenda of the G-7 summit,” he told reporters.
Iran has told mediators Qatar and Oman that it is not open to negotiating a ceasefire with the US while it is under Israeli attack,
Trump vetoes plan to target Khamenei
In Washington, two US officials told Reuters that Mr Trump vetoed an Israeli plan in recent days
“Have the Iranians killed an American yet? No. Until they do we’re not even talking about going after the political leadership,” said one of the sources, a senior US administration official.
When asked about the Reuters report, Mr Netanyahu told Fox News on June 15: “There’s so many false reports of conversations that never happened, and I’m not going to get into that.”
“We do what we need to do,” he told Fox’s Special Report With Bret Baier.
Firefighters and rescue personnel at work following a missile attack from Iran on Israel, at Haifa, on June 15.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Regime change in Iran could be a result of Israel’s military attacks, Mr Netanyahu said in the interview, adding that Israel would do what it takes to remove
Israel’s military spokesman has said the current goal of the campaign is not regime change, but the dismantling of Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes and removing its capabilities “to annihilate us”.
Israel launched a surprise attack
The intelligence chief of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, Brigadier-General Mohammad Kazemi, and his deputy were killed in Israeli attacks on Tehran on June 15, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency said.
An Israeli official said there was still a long list of targets in Iran and declined to say how long the offensive would continue.
Mr Trump has lauded Israel’s offensive while denying Iranian allegations that the US has taken part.
“If we are attacked in any way, shape or form by Iran, the full strength and might of the US Armed Forces will come down on you at levels never seen before,” he said in a message on Truth Social. “However, we can easily get a deal done between Iran and Israel, and end this bloody conflict.”
He earlier said the US had no role in Israel’s attack and warned Tehran not to widen its retaliation to include US targets.
Mr Trump has repeatedly said Iran could end the war by agreeing to tough restrictions on its nuclear programme, which Iran says is for peaceful purposes but Western countries say could be used to make an atomic bomb.
Talking to reporters as he left for the G-7 summit in Canada, Mr Trump said on June 15 he hopes Israel and Iran can broker a ceasefire but said sometimes countries have to fight it out first.
He added that the US will continue to support the defence of Israel but declined to say if he asked its ally to pause strikes on Iran.
“I hope there’s going to be a deal. I think it’s time for a deal and we’ll see what happens. Sometimes they have to fight it out, but we’re gonna see what happens,” he said.
Oil price: Tense wait for markets to open
Oil prices climbed in early Asian trade on June 15, heightening fears that the escalating battle could trigger a broader regional conflict and widely disrupt oil exports from the Middle East.
Brent crude futures were up US$2.14, or 2.9 per cent, to US$76.37 a barrel by 2225 GMT (6.25am, June 16, Singapore time), while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures climbed US$2.03, or 2.8 per cent, to US$75.01. They surged more than US$4 earlier in the session.
Financial markets are holding their breath to see whether oil prices surge further when trading resumes on June 16 after the weekend, with potentially punishing consequences for the global economy, or settle down on hopes that Gulf exports will escape relatively unscathed.
Oil prices had shot up by 9 per cent on June 13 before Israel had struck any Iranian oil and gas targets.
On June 15, the opening day of the trading week in Israel, the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange closed up 0.4 per cent, recovering from earlier losses of nearly 2 per cent.
Since June 14, Israel has hit the oil depot in Tehran and facilities at Iran’s South Fars gas field, the world’s largest, which produces gas for domestic consumption.
Israel so far has spared targets associated with Iran’s oil exports, while Tehran has yet to follow through on hinted threats to hinder shipping in the Gulf.
With markets reopening within hours, traders say oil buyers have loaded up on long-term contracts for protection in case of supply disruption, but uncertainty could drive wild price swings.
Iran said the situation at the burning Shahran oil depot in the capital was under control. It told citizens to seek shelter in mosques, schools and subway facilities. REUTERS
