Iran's armed forces called on Israelis to leave their country, warning it may not be "inhabitable" in the days to come, state news agency IRNA has reported, as military confrontation between the two regional rivals continues.
"Warnings for you in the coming days: Leave the occupied territories, because, certainly, they won't be inhabitable in the future!" Reza Sayyad, spokesperson for the armed forces, said on Sunday after a new wave of Iranian retaliatory strikes began against Israel.
He cautioned that "taking shelter underground will not bring safety to the Israelis."
"Therefore, we would like to emphasise: do not let the criminal regime use you as human shields," Sayyad said.
Iran tells US, West not to get involved
Separately, Mohsen Rezaei, a senior IRGC commander who is also a member of Iran's Expediency Council, said: "We may reach a point where we take major actions that will destabilise the entire region."
Rezaei said, "The wise people in the US and Europe must act quickly to pull their countries out of this war; otherwise, we cannot stand by and watch their involvement without responding."
On Friday, Israel launched unprovoked air strikes on multiple sites across Iran, including military and nuclear facilities.
Tel Aviv's unprovoked assault sparked the conflict, prompting Iran to carry out retaliatory strikes on Israel.
The attacks and counterattacks have continued since.
