Defense Minister Katz: ‘Tehran will burn’ if Iran continues attacks

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz issued a stark warning on Saturday, declaring that “Tehran will burn” if Iran keeps firing missiles at Israeli population centers. His comments followed a series of attacks across the Jewish state that left three people dead and dozens more wounded.

Speaking after a security assessment with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir and Mossad Director David Barnea, Katz said the Iranian regime would face serious consequences.

“The Iranian dictator is turning Iranian citizens into hostages and creating a reality in which they—especially the residents of Tehran—will pay a heavy price for the criminal harm to Israeli citizens,” he said.

“If [Iranian Supreme Leader Ali] Khamenei continues to fire missiles at the Israeli home front, Tehran will burn,” he warned.

Israeli Air Force fighter jets operating deep within Iranian airspace struck dozens of missiles and missile launchers that were intended to target Israeli civilians. The Israel Defense Forces stated on Saturday that these precision strikes have successfully disrupted planned attacks, thwarting future missile launches against Israeli population centers.

The military released footage showing the destruction of surface-to-surface missiles in western Iran, underscoring the ongoing efforts to neutralize threats emanating from the Islamic Republic.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian warned on Saturday that continued Israeli strikes would bring a “more severe and powerful response” from Tehran, AFP reported. “The continuation of Zionist aggression will be met with a more severe and powerful response from the Iranian armed forces,” Pezeshkian said during a phone call with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, according to the Iranian presidency.

On Friday, Katz emphasized that Jerusalem needed to strike Iran as it had reached a tipping point in nuclear weapons development.

“We are at a critical juncture; if we miss it, we will have no way to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons that threaten our existence,” he said.

The defense minister echoed comments made by Zamir, who addressed the nation on Friday, saying, “We have begun this operation because the time has come. We are at the point of no return. We cannot afford to wait for another time to operate.”

Early on Friday morning, Israel launched waves of airstrikes against senior Iranian military and nuclear personnel and infrastructure.

“With this crime, the Zionist regime sealed for itself a bitter and painful destiny and will definitely see that [destiny] brought upon it,” Khamenei vowed in remarks cited by Tehran’s official IRNA news agency on Friday.

According to the Islamic Republic’s top leader, the IDF “carried out with its evil and bloody hand a crime in our dear country.”

Jerusalem “should await a harsh response,” the ayatollah threatened.

Katz responded that Iran was “more determined than ever to realize its vision of destroying Israel,” adding that when he became defense minister on Nov. 5, 2024, he made Tehran’s nuclear program a “top priority.

“We have dealt with Iran’s agents over the past year and a half,” he said, referring to Israel’s efforts against Iranian proxies Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis. “But now we are dealing with the head of the snake itself.