Israel Warns of Escalating Strikes as Warplanes Roam Tehran’s Skies

by Emmitt Barry, with reporting from Worthy News Jerusalem Bureau Staff

(Worthy News) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a stark warning Saturday that Israeli Air Force jets would soon be a common sight above Tehran, pledging to strike “every site and every target of the ayatollah regime” as Israel ramps up its unprecedented military campaign against Iran.

“In the very near future, you will see Israeli Air Force warplanes above the skies of Tehran,” Netanyahu declared in a video address. “What they have felt so far is nothing compared with what they will be handed in the coming days.”

Netanyahu said Israel had already inflicted “real damage” on Iran’s nuclear program, despite Tehran’s denials, and emphasized that military operations would only intensify unless Iran ceased its aggression.

The prime minister’s remarks came as Israel launched a fresh wave of strikes on Iranian oil, gas, and military infrastructure. According to Israeli and Iranian sources, more than 150 targets and 400 assets were destroyed, including refineries, fuel depots, weapons sites, and missile batteries. Explosions rocked South Pars gas field and Asalouieh refinery on the Persian Gulf, with Iranian state media broadcasting images of fires engulfing key energy facilities.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, echoing Netanyahu’s defiance, warned Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei that further missile attacks on Israel would bring catastrophic retaliation. “If Khamenei continues to fire missiles at the Israeli home front, Tehran will burn,” Katz said. Hours later, massive fires were seen in Tehran after Israeli jets struck fuel terminals and military installations. Katz simply posted on X: “Tehran is burning.”

The IDF reported that over 70 Israeli fighter jets participated in strikes designed to secure air superiority over Iran. “Tehran is no longer immune. The path has been paved,” said IDF spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin.

The ongoing conflict erupted into full-scale hostilities after Iran launched waves of ballistic missiles at Israel, killing three civilians and wounding dozens. While most Iranian missiles were intercepted or fell harmlessly, several struck residential neighborhoods near Tel Aviv. Israel, in turn, expanded its campaign beyond nuclear sites to target Iran’s economic lifelines that bankroll regional terrorism.

Iran claims at least 78 killed and 300 wounded in the Israeli strikes, including casualties at a housing complex in Tehran. The mounting civilian toll has fueled calls in Tehran to escalate further, even as Iran canceled nuclear talks with the Trump administration that were set for Sunday.

Israel’s military chiefs hailed their forces’ performance. “You are paving the way to Tehran,” IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir told airmen during a visit to Tel Nof Airbase. “You are confronting an extraordinary strategic threat to the State of Israel. Our air superiority is unprecedented.”

The broader geopolitical implications of the conflict are profound. Enabled by regional ties fostered through the Abraham Accords and the collapse of Syria’s regime, Israel now conducts operations deep inside Iran — once thought impossible due to distance and hostile airspace.

While the United States provides logistical and weapons support, Washington remains on the sidelines, urging diplomacy and warning Tehran against further escalation that could risk U.S. assets in the region.

For Israel, officials say, only a decisive end to Iran’s nuclear ambitions will suffice. “We are operating forcefully to remove the two-pronged threat to Israel—the ballistic missiles and the nuclear program,” Netanyahu affirmed. “We are in the 90th minute of Iran’s race to build nuclear warheads. Our operations have inflicted real damage.”

With no end in sight, both sides brace for continued hostilities. Iran continues to launch missiles at Israeli cities; Israel promises that the price for such attacks will only rise. The world watches anxiously as a long-feared war in the Middle East unfolds.

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