Iran threatens to hit ‘heart of Tel Aviv’ in response to any US attack

As tensions soar, top adviser to Khamenei vows ‘unprecedented’ response, including against ‘all who support the aggressor,’ while foreign minister warns of ‘fingers on the trigger’

Iranian officials issued stark warnings Wednesday against any US strike on the country, with a top adviser to Iran’s supreme leader threatening that Tehran would attack Israel in any such event with an “unprecedented” retaliation, including “at the heart of Tel Aviv.”

In posts to X both in Persian and in Hebrew, Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said: “A limited [US] strike is an illusion. Any military action by America, of any kind and at any level, will be considered the start of a war, and the response will be immediate, comprehensive, and unprecedented, directed at the aggressor, at the heart of Tel Aviv, and at all who support the aggressor.”

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also warned that Iran’s forces would respond forcefully to any US military operation, but did not rule out a new deal on Tehran’s nuclear program.

“Our brave Armed Forces are prepared — with their fingers on the trigger — to immediately and powerfully respond to ANY aggression against our beloved land, air, and sea,” he said on X.

“At the same time, Iran has always welcomed a mutually beneficial, fair and equitable NUCLEAR DEAL — on equal footing, and free from coercion, threats, and intimidation — which ensures Iran’s rights to PEACEFUL nuclear technology, and guarantees NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS.”

And reacting to a Trump post on US forces’ preparations for a possible strike, Tehran’s mission to the United Nations said on the platform: “Iran stands ready for dialogue based on mutual respect and interests—BUT IF PUSHED, IT WILL DEFEND ITSELF AND RESPOND LIKE NEVER BEFORE!”

In his latest post on Truth Social, Trump did not mention this month’s deadly crackdown on anti-government protests, but said Iran needed to negotiate a deal over its nuclear program, which the West believes is aimed at making an atomic bomb.

Trump has not ruled out an attack after the violent repression of protests that began in late December and peaked on January 8 and 9. Estimates on the death toll range from some 6,000 to over 30,000.

A US naval strike group that Trump described as an “armada” led by aircraft carrier the USS Abraham Lincoln is now lurking in Middle East waters.

“Hopefully Iran will quickly ‘Come to the Table’ and negotiate a fair and equitable deal — NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS — one that is good for all parties. Time is running out, it is truly of the essence!” said Trump. “The next attack will be far worse! Don’t make that happen again,” he added.

In June last year, the US carried out strikes on Iranian nuclear sites during Israel’s 12-day war against the Islamic Republic.

Since Iran launched its crackdown on protests earlier this month, accompanied by a blanket internet blackout, Trump has given mixed signals on intervention, which some opponents of Tehran’s clerical leadership see as the only way to bring about change.

Trump’s top diplomat Marco Rubio said Wednesday that the Iranian leadership was at its weakest ever point. He told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that Tehran was threatened by its inability to address the fact “that their economy is in collapse,” calling it the root of the protests.

Meanwhile, Germany’s leader Friedrich Merz predicted the Islamic Republic’s “days are numbered.” He suggested it could be a “matter of weeks” until the Iranian government was no longer in charge of the country.

“A regime that can only hold onto power through sheer violence and terror against its own population: its days are numbered,” he said at a press conference.

‘Severe damage’

Analysts say US options include strikes on military facilities or targeted hits against the leadership under Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a full-scale bid to bring down the system that has ruled Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution that ousted the shah.

Before Trump’s comments were published, Araghchi said “conducting diplomacy through military threat cannot be effective or useful.”

In televised comments, Araghchi said he had “no contact” with US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff in recent days and that Tehran had “not sought negotiations.”

Iranian armed forces chief of staff Habibollah Sayyari warned the US against any “miscalculation,” saying that “they too would suffer damage.”

Following a call on Tuesday between Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and de facto Saudi leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Iran reached out to other US allies in the region.

The Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani spoke with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who is also the foreign minister, both sides said.

Sheikh Mohammed emphasized Qatar’s support for “all efforts aimed at reducing escalation and achieving peaceful solutions,” the Qatari foreign ministry said.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, meanwhile, held separate calls with both Araghchi and Witkoff, and stressed the need to “work towards de-escalation,” the Egyptian foreign ministry said.

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told Al-Jazeera television: “It’s wrong to attack Iran. It’s wrong to start the war again.” He urged Washington to reopen talks on the nuclear standoff.

The New York Times, citing American and European officials, said that Western officials were demanding that Iran end all uranium enrichment, limitations on ballistic missile production and Tehran halting all backing for proxy groups in the Middle East, including Hezbollah, Hamas and Yemen’s Houthis.

‘New dimensions of crackdown’

In an updated toll, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said it had confirmed that 6,221 people had been killed, including 5,856 protesters, 100 minors, 214 members of the security forces and 49 bystanders.

But the group added it was still investigating another 17,091 possible fatalities. At least 42,324 people have been arrested, it said.

Time Magazine and opposition-aligned website Iran International have reported that over 30,000 may have been killed.

HRANA warned that security forces were searching hospitals for wounded protesters, saying this highlighted “new dimensions of the continued security crackdown.”

HRANA said a trial in Malard outside Tehran on Tuesday of a man accused of the death of a police officer was the first such hearing linked to the protests.

It was a “starting point for a broad series of trials” that would be “aimed at imposing severe penalties on protesters,” HRANA said.

Meanwhile, Iran on Wednesday executed a man arrested last year on charges of spying for Israel’s Mossad spy agency, the judiciary said.