Online Reporter
TEHRAN. – Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Israel seeks to expand the war to other countries in the West Asia region.
He made the remarks at a weekly press conference while condemning the ongoing Israeli “aggression” against Iran, which has started early Friday.
Baghaei said, “We have no doubt that Israel wishes to fan the flames of the war as much as it can and spread the flames to other countries and players in the region,” adding that Israel had attacked residential buildings in Iran and a children’s hospital in Tehran.
He stressed that Iran’s nuclear program was merely a pretext for Israel as no evidence was available indicating a diversion from the “peaceful path” in Iran’s nuclear programme.
The Iranian spokesman also slammed the US government and policymakers for their positions on the Israeli attacks, stressing that such stances made Iran more certain that they were part of Israel’s “lawbreaking and aggression.”
Israel has since early Friday launched airstrikes on the Iranian capital Tehran and other areas across the country, killing a number of Iran’s top military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians.
In response, Iran has since Friday night launched a series of missile and drone strikes on different targets in Israel, inflicting casualties and heavy damages.
Iran launched a new pre-dawn missile attack on Israel yesterday, killing at least eight people and wounding dozens, Israeli officials said, as the four-day conflict triggered by an Israeli surprise assault intensified.
The missile barrage set off air raid sirens across Israel. Plumes of black smoke rose above Haifa, a major coastal city in northern Israel, and eyewitnesses reported multiple explosions in the north and central regions of the country.
Local authorities confirmed fatalities in several locations. Four people were killed when a missile struck a residential building in Petah Tikva, a city east of Tel Aviv, according to Mayor Rami Greenberg.
He stated that hundreds of residents from the damaged building and three adjacent structures were evacuated. Photos from the scene showed multi-story buildings with significant blast damage and scattered rubble.
Three other fatalities were reported in Haifa. In Bnei Brak, also east of Tel Aviv, an 86-year-old man died when his apartment collapsed due to a shock wave from a nearby strike.
At least 87 people received hospital treatment, including one woman in serious condition and five in moderate condition. The remaining 81 sustained light injuries.
One missile also fell near the United States consulate and embassy branch in Tel Aviv.
US Ambassador Mike Huckabee stated on social media platform X that the missile’s concussion caused minor damage, but no US personnel were injured.
The Iranian missile salvos followed Israeli airstrikes on surface-to-surface missile sites in Tehran and central Iran. Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz warned that Tehran residents would “pay the price – and soon” for the missile attacks against Israeli cities.
The Israeli Defence Ministry also reported that several Iranian drones were launched during the recent missile attack. The latest Iranian attacks come as Israeli and Iranian strikes continued into Monday, marking the fourth day of intense hostilities. – Xinhua.
