‘We will show no mercy’: Iran accuses Israel of igniting conflict many fear will engulf region
Iran’s supreme leader has accused Israel of starting a war with its unprecedented attack, warning Tehran will “show no mercy”.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned Israel had made a “grave error” that would bring them “to ruin”, as Iranian missiles lit up the skies above Israeli cities on Friday night.
“They are the ones who have started this and have begun a war,” he said. “We will show them no mercy. Life will definitely become bitter for them.”
The supreme leader’s warning comes after Benjamin Netanyahu launched “Operation Rising Lion” in the early hours of Friday (13 June) with Israel’s largest-ever salvo on Tehran’s nuclear and ballistic missile facilities—attacks that also wiped out many of Iran’s most senior military commanders.
The Israeli military said it struck over 200 targets in total – with a second round of strikes repeated on Friday evening – including on Iran’s sprawling underground nuclear facility at Natanz. Israel and Iran separately confirmed that the barrage killed some of Iran’s highest-ranking officers, including Chief of Staff General Mohamed Bagheri and Hossein Salami, the leader of the powerful Revolutionary Guards .
Netanyahu has warned that “more is on the way,” and, in a direct appeal to the Iranian people, appeared to incite them to rise up against their leaders.
“The regime does not know what hit them, or what will hit them. It has never been weaker,” he said. “This is your opportunity to stand up and let your voices be heard.”
The shock confrontation between the arch foes that has ignited fears of a Middle East-wide conflict in a region already on a knife edge.
Iran said six prominent nuclear scientists and several of its most senior commanders were killed during Israel’s strikes, including the head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, the armed forces’ chief of staff, and the army’s deputy commander-in-chief, Gholamali Rashid. Israel also claimed it “eliminated” the commanders of Iran’s air force and drone forces.
Iran’s United Nations envoy said in total 78 people were killed and more than 320 injured most of them civilians.
The daring offensive allegedly saw Mossad operatives deep within Iranian territory conduct a series of covert sabotage missions targeting the country’s air defence systems, including by building a drone base near Tehran, security sources told Israeli media.
Tehran has responded by launching two salvos at Israel, with the latest on Friday evening lighting up the skies above cities including Tel Aviv.
Iran’s state media agency IRNA said Iran launched “hundreds” of ballistic missiles at Israel in retaliation. But Israeli military sought to downplay the response, saying two barrages of surface-to-surface missiles were launched amounting to “fewer than 100” projectiles.
“Most were intercepted by air defence systems or failed to reach their targets,” it added.
