Israel: "Tehran will burn" if attacks continue

Israel's defense minister warned Iran on Saturday that Tehran "will burn" if Iranian forces continue to fire missiles, with the Israeli army announcing it was ready to resume attacks on the Iranian capital.

“The Iranian dictator is holding Iranian citizens hostage and demonstrating that they, and particularly the residents of Tehran, will pay a heavy price for the criminal damage caused to the citizens of Israel. If [Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali] Khamenei continues to fire missiles at the Israeli rear, Tehran will burn,” Israel Katz threatened in a statement.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military announced that its fighter jets were ready to resume strikes on targets in Tehran , after claiming to have struck air defenses in the Iranian capital region overnight.

“Routes to Iran have been opened,” the chief of staff and the head of the air force said in a statement. The army “is proceeding in accordance with its operational plans and [Israeli Air Force] fighter jets are ready to resume strikes on targets in Tehran,” the statement added.

Iranian media reported new Israeli attacks on cities in western and northwestern Iran that host important military bases.

The strikes hit the northwestern city of Tabriz as well as parts of the western provinces of Lorestan, Hamedan and Kermanshah, according to the Fars and Mehr news agencies.

Israel and Iran have been at war since early Friday morning when Tel Aviv bombed Iranian military and nuclear facilities, killing at least 78 people, including military leaders and scientists, and injuring hundreds, according to Iranian diplomacy.

The Israeli strikes, carried out by 200 planes against a hundred targets, mainly hit Tehran (north) and the Natanz uranium enrichment plant (center).

Iran retaliated by launching hundreds of missiles into Israeli territory, with explosions recorded over the cities of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, which killed at least three people and left dozens injured.