TEHRAN: Iran on Thursday threatened “crushing” attacks on the United States and Israel, firing missiles at Tel Aviv after US President Donald Trump vowed to bomb the Islamic republic “back to the Stone Ages”.
The war, which was started more than a month ago by US-Israeli strikes on Iran, has spread throughout the Middle East and roiled the global economy.
In a White House address, Trump warned US attacks would intensify if Iran did not reach a negotiated settlement. “Over the next two to three weeks, we are going to bring them back to the Stone Ages, where they belong,” he said.
Iran’s response was immediate, with Israeli air defences pressed into action. Four people were reportedly lightly injured in the Tel Aviv area.
AFP journalists in Jerusalem heard fresh blasts on Thursday evening after the Israeli military warned of Iranian missiles. Later, it said another missile had been launched, from Yemen.
In Tehran, AFP journalists reported a series of loud explosions, sending reverberations across the city. The targets were unclear.
Iranian state TV said that US-Israeli strikes hit a bridge in Karaj, west of Tehran, twice on Thursday, with the first strike leaving two civilian casualties and the second coming as emergency teams were deployed.
Trump took to social media to boast about sending the bridge “tumbling down”, promising “much more to follow!”
The country’s two largest steel plants have meanwhile been forced offline by several waves of US and Israeli attacks, the companies said.
Despite the bombardments, families gathered at Tehran’s Melat park, with men smoking water pipes and children running around playgrounds, to mark the 13th day after Nowruz, the Persian New Year, when people traditionally picnic outdoors, AFP journalists said.
A resident told AFP there was an increase in checkpoints throughout the city manned by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.
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