Iran urges settlers to flee occupied lands
The Iranian armed forces have issued a stern warning to Israeli settlers in the occupied territories, urging them to evacuate immediately as Iran prepares to launch widespread strikes across the entire occupied land.
In a televised message on Sunday, Colonel Reza Sayyad, spokesperson for Iran’s Armed Forces Communications Center, warned settlers that remaining in the area would place their lives in grave danger, as Iran prepares for a “crushing” retaliation to recent Israeli military aggression.
“Leave the occupied territories. Leaving this occupied land is the only way to preserve your lives,” Colonel Sayyad said in the video statement, slamming the “Zionist regime” for criminal aggression against the Islamic Republic.
Sayyad condemned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s regime as “desperate, corrupt, and criminal,” saying that its latest military aggression was "doomed".
He warned that Iran’s response would extend across all parts of the occupied territories.
The Iranian military, Sayyad said, possesses a "comprehensive bank of intelligence" on sensitive targets within Israeli-controlled areas, warning settlers to avoid these locations and noting that even underground shelters would not guarantee their safety.
Residents in Tehran waited in long queues to fuel their vehicles as Israeli strikes continued over the city.
Iran and Israel have been exchanging missiles since Israel launched its biggest-ever air offensive against Iran early on June 13.
The Israeli military warned Iranians living near weapons facilities to evacuate, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attacks by Israel so far were nothing compared with what Iran would see in the coming days.
Iran has said 78 people were killed there on the first day of Israel's campaign, and scores more on the second, including 60 when a missile brought down a 14-story apartment block in Tehran, where 29 of the dead were children.
