Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today urged global leaders to join Israel and the United States in confronting Iran, saying recent missile attacks show Tehran poses a wider global threat. Prime Minister Netanyahu’s remarks came after Iran fired missiles at Arad and Dimona in southern Israel yesterday, injuring more than 100 people and damaging residential areas. No fatalities were reported in the strike. Media reports said the target of the Iranian attack was a nuclear facility 13km away from the town of Dimona.
The Israel Defense Forces said that over 80 people were wounded in Arad alone, while hospitals treated civilians for shrapnel injuries, fractures and shock.
The Israeli Prime Minister visited a strike site in Arad today. Talking to reporters later, Mr Netanyahu accused Iran of targeting civilian areas and sites in Jerusalem, including the Western Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Al-Aqsa Mosque. He said Iran had demonstrated long-range strike capability and threatened international maritime and energy routes, calling for broader international action alongside Israel and the United States.
Iran said the strikes targeted strategic sites and came in response to an attack on its Natanz nuclear facility, which it blamed on a joint US-Israeli operation, an allegation Israel denies.
Meanwhile, Iran has warned of irreversible damage to regional infrastructure if power plants are attacked. The warning came after US President Donald Trump said America will obliterate Iranian power plants if the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway which is vital for global oil shipping, is not open before a 48-hour deadline. Meanwhile, Israel launched a wave of strikes on the Iranian capital overnight, and Iran has retaliated with missiles.
In a social media post, Iran’s Parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf warned that critical infrastructure and energy facilities in West Asia could be irreversibly destroyed if Iranian power plants are attacked.
On the other hand, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it has launched fresh strikes on southern Lebanon targeting Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah. In a separate update earlier today, the IDF said it had killed nine members of the Iran-backed group last evening.
Lebanon’s health ministry said four people have been killed and seven others injured following Israeli raids in two areas. The country’s news agency said three people were killed in the town of Sultaniyeh, and one was killed near the town of Marjeyoun, both in the south of the country.
Saudi Arabia and the UAE also said they intercepted missile attacks this morning. UAE’s Defence Ministry informed that it has intercepted four ballistic missiles and 25 drones launched from Iran today.
