Israel warns Iranian citizens to evacuate immediately amid rising tensions

TEHRAN: Amid the escalating tension between Iran and Israel, the Israeli authorities have issued a warning for Iranian citizens to evacuate from military fields.

Israeli forces issued the warning through their social media account on X, formerly known as Twitter, posting that individuals in Iran should avoid what it referred to as weapons production plants and “support centers”.

“Emergency alert to all Iranian nationals: All individuals who are now or shortly in or around military weapons manufacturing plants and auxiliary institutions ought to promptly vacate those places and never return until notified further,” the social media account of the military in the Farsi language stated.

The warnings followed confirmation by Israeli officials that at least eight individuals were killed, more than 200 wounded, and 35 are still missing after a massive Iranian reprisal attack against the Israeli cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa.

The attacks, which Iran claims were retaliation for previous Israeli attacks, targeted military and strategic sites, resulting in massive damage and destruction.

Rescue efforts are ongoing by emergency services, with hospitals continuing to be swamped with casualties.

The Israeli Defence Forces confirmed that Iranian missiles hit some areas in northern Israel. Tehran claimed cities such as Haifa and Tel Aviv were targeted with the use of Kheibar, Badr, and Emad missiles.

The situation is tense, with Israeli airspace open to enemy plane incursions, the Israeli Defence Forces said, and reports indicating critical infrastructure could have been destroyed.

Previously, Iranian news claimed air defences were deployed Saturday over Tehran and six other provinces, on the second day of Israel’s aerial campaign against the Islamic Republic.

Tasnim news agency reported air defence units countering “hostile targets” in the skies over Tehran and also in Hormozgan province in the south, Kermanshah and Lorestan in the west, Qom in the centre, East Azerbaijan in the northwest, and Khuzestan in the southwest. State television also reported air defence operations in the regions.

A second news organization, Fars, published photos of what it claimed was the “destruction of two Israeli planes in Tehran.”

Iran and Israel exchanged missiles and airstrikes at the start of Saturday after Israel had conducted its largest-ever air campaign against its arch-nemesis.

Iran maintains that attacks on Israel will persist, senior Iranian military leaders were quoted as saying.