Iran Posts Public Missile Threat Targeting Tel Aviv and Central Israel

Iran sharply escalated its threats against Israel over the past 24–48 hours, combining public intimidation, military warnings, and diplomatic hardening in what appears to be a coordinated messaging push aimed directly at the Israeli public and leadership.

Iranian media on Sunday published footage of threatening signage erected in Palestine Square in Tehran showing a map of Israel with sites in the Gush Dan region marked as future targets. The sign included a Hebrew message reading, “מול גשם של טילים זה אזור קטן” — “Facing a rain of missiles, this is a small area.” An accompanying English slogan warned: “You started it, we will finish it.”

The visual warning was reinforced by statements from Iran’s top military leadership earlier Sunday in Tehran. Iranian Chief of Staff Abd al-Rahim Mousavi said Iran is “prepared for any scenario,” warning that Israel and the United States would bear responsibility for the consequences of any future conflict. Speaking during an address to Iranian air force personnel, Mousavi framed war as a danger imposed by external actors rather than a choice made by Tehran.

In the same address, Mousavi claimed that Iran has built an independent military force based entirely on domestic knowledge and production, asserting that the Islamic Republic has successfully bypassed international sanctions. He said Iran’s armed forces have proven they can operate without Western assistance and claimed Iran’s defensive systems demonstrated resilience against what he described as a “coalition of devils,” a phrase Iranian officials use to refer to Israel and its allies.

At the diplomatic level, Iran reinforced its confrontational stance later Sunday in Moscow, where Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov hosted Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi for talks as nuclear negotiations with the United States continue indirectly. Speaking to reporters following the meeting, Araghchi said that recognition of Iran’s right to enrich uranium is “the key” to the success of the talks.

Addressing comments by U.S. President Donald Trump during the same press appearance, Araghchi responded to claims that a conflict could have been avoided had Iran accepted American terms earlier. “Zero enrichment will never be accepted by us,” he said. “Zero enrichment will never be accepted by us. Therefore, discussions must focus on enrichment inside Iran, while building confidence that it is and will remain for peaceful purposes.”

Araghchi framed Iran’s insistence on enrichment during the Moscow briefing not as a technical dispute but as a matter of sovereignty and national honor. “The insistence on enrichment is not only technical or economic. It is rooted in independence and dignity. No one has the right to tell the Iranian nation what it should or should not do,” he said.

He also made clear in the same remarks that Iran’s missile program, the capability highlighted in the Tehran signage, would not be up for discussion. Araghchi stated that Iran’s missile program, which Washington has sought to include in negotiations, “was never part of the agenda.”

Together, the public threats in Tehran, the military’s declarations of readiness, and the diplomats’ refusal to compromise on enrichment or missiles marked a synchronized escalation across multiple fronts. All unfolded within the same narrow time window, as nuclear talks with the United States continue and Israel prepares for high-level diplomatic engagement with Washington.