{"id":262641,"date":"2026-01-28T23:12:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T23:12:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/262641\/"},"modified":"2026-01-28T23:12:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T23:12:15","slug":"iran-threatens-to-hit-heart-of-tel-aviv-in-response-to-any-us-attack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/262641\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran threatens to hit \u2018heart of Tel Aviv\u2019 in response to any US attack"},"content":{"rendered":"

Iranian officials issued stark warnings Wednesday against any US strike on the country, with a top adviser to Iran\u2019s supreme leader threatening that Tehran would attack Israel in any such event with an \u201cunprecedented\u201d retaliation, including \u201cat the heart of Tel Aviv.\u201d<\/p>\n

In posts to X both in Persian and in Hebrew, Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran\u2019s Supreme National Security Council, said: \u201cA 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also warned that Iran\u2019s forces would respond forcefully to any US military operation, but did not rule out a new deal on Tehran\u2019s nuclear program.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur brave Armed Forces are prepared \u2014 with their fingers on the trigger \u2014 to immediately and powerfully respond to ANY aggression against our beloved land, air, and sea,\u201d he said on X.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the same time, Iran has always welcomed a mutually beneficial, fair and equitable NUCLEAR DEAL \u2014 on equal footing, and free from coercion, threats, and intimidation \u2014 which ensures Iran\u2019s rights to PEACEFUL nuclear technology, and guarantees NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tGet The Times of Israel’s Daily Edition
\n\t\t\tby email and never miss our top stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n

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And reacting to a Trump post on US forces\u2019 preparations for a possible strike, Tehran\u2019s mission to the United Nations said on the platform: \u201cIran stands ready for dialogue based on mutual respect and interests\u2014BUT IF PUSHED, IT WILL DEFEND ITSELF AND RESPOND LIKE NEVER BEFORE!\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tIranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi attends a joint press conference with his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein, in Tehran, Iran, on January 18, 2026. (ATTA KENARE \/ AFP)<\/p>\n

In his latest post on Truth Social, Trump did not mention this month\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

A US naval strike group that Trump described as an \u201carmada\u201d led by aircraft carrier the USS Abraham Lincoln is now lurking in Middle East waters.<\/p>\n

\u201cHopefully Iran will quickly \u2018Come to the Table\u2019 and negotiate a fair and equitable deal \u2014 NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS \u2014 one that is good for all parties. Time is running out, it is truly of the essence!\u201d said Trump. \u201cThe next attack will be far worse! Don\u2019t make that happen again,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

In June last year, the US carried out strikes on Iranian nuclear sites during Israel\u2019s 12-day war against the Islamic Republic.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s clerical leadership see as the only way to bring about change.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s 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 \u201cthat their economy is in collapse,\u201d calling it the root of the protests.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tA US Navy officer walks past fighter jets sitting on the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, during a media tour in Port Klang, on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, on November 26, 2024. (Fazry Ismail\/Pool\/AFP)<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Germany\u2019s leader Friedrich Merz predicted the Islamic Republic\u2019s \u201cdays are numbered.\u201d He suggested it could be a \u201cmatter of weeks\u201d until the Iranian government was no longer in charge of the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cA regime that can only hold onto power through sheer violence and terror against its own population: its days are numbered,\u201d he said at a press conference.<\/p>\n

\u2018Severe damage\u2019<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Before Trump\u2019s comments were published, Araghchi said \u201cconducting diplomacy through military threat cannot be effective or useful.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tAn Iranian man walks past an anti-US and anti-Israel banner hanging on a building in Palestine Square in Tehran on January 27, 2026. (ATTA KENARE \/ AFP)<\/p>\n

In televised comments, Araghchi said he had \u201cno contact\u201d with US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff in recent days and that Tehran had \u201cnot sought negotiations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Iranian armed forces chief of staff Habibollah Sayyari warned the US against any \u201cmiscalculation,\u201d saying that \u201cthey too would suffer damage.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The Secretary of Iran\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

Sheikh Mohammed emphasized Qatar\u2019s support for \u201call efforts aimed at reducing escalation and achieving peaceful solutions,\u201d the Qatari foreign ministry said.<\/p>\n

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, meanwhile, held separate calls with both Araghchi and Witkoff, and stressed the need to \u201cwork towards de-escalation,\u201d the Egyptian foreign ministry said.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tA billboard depicting a damaged US aircraft carrier with disabled fighter jets on its deck and a sign reading in Farsi and English, \u201cIf you sow the wind, you\u2019ll reap the whirlwind,\u201d at Enghelab Square in Tehran, Iran, January 25, 2026. (AP Photo\/Vahid Salemi)<\/p>\n

Turkey\u2019s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told Al-Jazeera television: \u201cIt\u2019s wrong to attack Iran. It\u2019s wrong to start the war again.\u201d He urged Washington to reopen talks on the nuclear standoff.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s Houthis.<\/p>\n

\u2018New dimensions of crackdown\u2019<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tIn this photo obtained by The Associated Press, Iranians attend an anti-government protest in Tehran, Iran, January 8, 2026. (UGC via AP)<\/p>\n

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

Time Magazine and opposition-aligned website Iran International have reported<\/a> that over 30,000 may have been killed.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tFlowers are placed next to a display with photos of Iranian people killed during the recent protests in Iran, during a rally and vigil in their honor by Iranian Americans, outside the White House in Washington, January 16, 2026. (Saul Loeb\/AFP)<\/p>\n

HRANA warned that security forces were searching hospitals for wounded protesters, saying this highlighted \u201cnew dimensions of the continued security crackdown.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

It was a \u201cstarting point for a broad series of trials\u201d that would be \u201caimed at imposing severe penalties on protesters,\u201d HRANA said.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Iran on Wednesday executed a man arrested last year on charges of spying for Israel\u2019s Mossad spy agency, the judiciary said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Iranian officials issued stark warnings Wednesday against any US strike on the country, with a top adviser to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":262642,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[42,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":{"0":"post-262641","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-headlines","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-top-news","11":"tag-top-stories","12":"tag-topnews","13":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/262641","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=262641"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/262641\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/262642"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=262641"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=262641"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=262641"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}