Tehran (AFP) – Israel's defence minister warned Saturday that "Tehran will burn" and its residents pay dearly if Iran continues its missile strikes against Israeli civilians.
"The Iranian dictator is turning the citizens of Iran into hostages and bringing about a reality in which they –- especially the residents of Tehran -– will pay a heavy price because of the criminal harm to Israeli civilians," said Israel Katz.
"If (Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali) Khamenei continues to fire missiles toward the Israeli home front –- Tehran will burn," the minister added.
The threat came as Israel and Iran exchanged fire a day after Israel unleashed strikes that Iran said hit its nuclear facilities, "martyred" top commanders and killed dozens of civilians.
Iran has hit back with waves of drone and missile strikes, with a barrage of dozens lighting up the skies over Jerusalem and Tel Aviv overnight, killing three people and wounding dozens.
Following decades of enmity and conflict by proxy, it is the first time that Israel and Iran have traded fire with such intensity, with fears of a prolonged conflict engulfing the region.
The operation -- dubbed "Rising Lion" -- has since killed Iran's highest-ranking military officer, Mohammad Bagheri, and the head of the Revolutionary Guards, Hossein Salami, among other senior generals.
On Saturday, the Israeli military said it had Tehran in its sights after strikes on dozens of missile launchers and air defences in the area around the Iranian capital.
"The way to Iran has been paved," the military's chief of staff and air force chief were quoted as saying in a statement.
The military "is proceeding according to its operational plans, and (Israeli air force) fighters jets are set to resume striking targets in Tehran," it added.
Iran's ambassador to the United Nations said 78 people had been killed and 320 wounded in Israel's first wave of strikes on Friday.
Iran called on its citizens to unite in defence of the country as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged them to rise up against their government.
Thanks for starting WW3 Netanyahu
He's willing to let the region burn to remain in power, otherwise he's fucked internally.
It says a lot about Israel that Rabin was assassinated yet Netanyahu gets to roam free.
One look at any settler progrom in the West Bank backed by the IOF tells you everything about Israeli society. It's fucked, they're worse than the Islamic Mullahs because these fuckers are "protected" by the IOF therefore defacto protected by the West.