Iran Threatens to Make Israel Unlivable in Under an Hour

(Video: Roi Avraham / GPO)

The chairman of the National Security Committee in Iran's parliament, Ebrahim Azizi, published a statement yesterday (Sunday) that included a map of critical infrastructure sites in Israel. Azizi threatened that it would be possible to "turn the occupied territories into a place unfit for living in less than an hour."

The map identified several major infrastructure sites, including the desalination plants in Hadera, Sorek, Ashdod, and Ashkelon; power stations and oil refineries in Haifa and Ashkelon; the Nuclear Research Center in Dimona; and the Eilat-Ashkelon oil pipeline. It also marked bridges and major transportation interchanges in the Tel Aviv and Jerusalem areas.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a video statement yesterday evening in response to the Iranian threat: "The IDF is prepared both for defense and for attack. We have intelligence indications that our enemies, Iran and its proxies, may try to challenge us with attacks in order to disrupt the elections. I warn our enemies — you will be hit with disproportionate force, harder than you imagine. It will be a decisive blow to you. Do not misjudge us, do not test us."

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump spoke to reporters on the White House lawn and stated: "We will not strike in Iran today."

The New York Times reported that a senior official in Iran's Revolutionary Guards confirmed that Iran was preparing to target American diplomats and government officials. According to the official, "Israel and the United States have killed dozens of senior Iranian figures and some of their family members, and that fact makes Americans legitimate targets as well."

CNN also reported on Saturday night that the US administration had accelerated the evacuation of diplomats and their families from American missions across the Middle East, amid concerns over regional escalation and the possibility of renewed strikes in Iran.