Iran threatens to strike US bases in vow to continue retaliatory blitz on Israel

Iran retaliates with 200 ballistic missiles and barrage of drones Strikes between both enemies still ongoing after night of terror 78 people killed in Iran, while three people killed in Israel Fears America and Gulf nations will get dragged in fighting

Fears are rising that the Middle East is teetering on the edge of an all-out war as strikes between Israel and Iran continue to escalate – with now US military bases becoming potential targets.

Longtime adversaries, Israel and Iran, unleashed a barrage after a barrage of ballistic missiles and drones, with explosions slamming into Jerusalem, Tel Aviv ,Tehran and Zanjan.

In Iran, more than 78 people have been killed, including including four of its top security chiefs, and 320 wounded, most of them civilians. Three people died in Israel, with dozens more injured in Iranian strikes.

Pillars of black smoke rose from military sites and residential areas across both countries after a night of relentless bombardments.

A rescue personnel hands over Eli Bachar, 40, his dog Tess who was rescued from a building that was hit at an impact site following missile attack from Iran on Israel, in Ramat Gan (Picture: Reuters)

This could be the start of a prolonged military campaign as neither side is showing any inclination to end the fighting – despite international calls for de-escalation.

Fighting will ‘spread’ to US bases in Middle East

There are fears that the US – where Donald Trump has been congratulating Israel for the ‘excellent’ attacks – and Gulf nations will be dragged into the conflict.

Iran’s Fars news agency reported that senior military officials have warned that the conflict will spread to US bases over the coming days.

‘This confrontation will not end with last night’s limited actions and Iran’s strikes will continue,’ Fars cited an unnamed official as saying.

‘And this action will be very painful and regrettable for the aggressors.’

A map showing where US military bases are positioned in the Middle East (Picture: Metro)

Shahram Akbarzadeh, the director of the Middle East Studies Forum at the Alfred Deakin Institute, warned there are ‘more attacks to come’ as Israel and Iran ‘settle in for the long haul’.

‘There is every chance this could spread out to the whole region and draw in the US,’ he told Al Jazeera.

‘Israel is actually banking on this dynamic that once a conflict starts, the US has an obligation and commitment to Israeli security.

‘So the US will be dragged into the conflict.’

200 Iranian missiles rattle Israel

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a recorded message Friday: ‘We will not allow them to escape safely from this great crime they committed.’

It was just hours after that Iran launched waves of missiles at Israel late Friday and early today.

Iranians awoke to state television airing repeated clips of strikes on Israel, as well as videos of people cheering and handing out sweets. 

Meanwhile, Israel’s military said more drones had been intercepted near the Dead Sea in the early hours of this morning.

A hospital in Tel Aviv treated seven people wounded in the second Iranian barrage; all but one of them had light injuries. 

Israel’s Fire and Rescue Services said they were wounded when a projectile hit a building in the city.

A spokesperson for Beilinson Hospital said one woman was killed. Hours later, an Iranian missile struck near homes in the central city of Rishon Lezion, killing two more people and wounding 19, according to Israel’s paramedic service Magen David Adom. 

Meanwhile, the sound of explosions and Iranian air defence systems firing at targets echoed across central Tehran shortly after midnight on Saturday.

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