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Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed Monday that they used "new methods" that disrupted Israeli defense systems, causing them to target each other during an eighth wave of operations that killed at least five people and wounded 100 in Israel.
The IRGC said enhanced intelligence and equipment capabilities in the "more powerful and devastating than before" attack caused Israeli multi-layered defense systems to malfunction.
"The enemy's multi-layered defense systems were disrupted in such a way that the regime's defense systems targeted each other," the IRGC stated.
Iranian missiles struck Tel Aviv and the port city of Haifa before dawn Monday, destroying residential buildings and hitting near popular markets and the U.S. Embassy branch.
The strikes destroyed several residential buildings in a densely populated Tel Aviv neighborhood just a few hundred meters from the U.S. Embassy branch. U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee said the building sustained minor damage but no personnel were injured.
Tel Aviv resident Guydo Tetelbaun, 31, described the terrifying experience: "A couple of people came in bloody, all cut up. And then when we came to the apartment, after it quietened down, we saw there wasn't much of it... Walls are caved in, no more glass."
Israel's national emergency service reported at least five deaths from Monday's strikes, raising Israel's death toll to 18 since Friday. Around 100 were wounded in the overnight attacks.
Search and rescue operations were underway in Haifa, where approximately 30 people were wounded. Fires burned at a power plant near the port.
The Iranian health ministry reported at least 224 deaths in Iran, with 90% of the casualties being civilians.
The IRGC said their innovations achieved maximum missile strikes despite "comprehensive US and Western support" for Israel's defensive technologies.
Iran described the operation as showing "the calculations and assessments of the Zionist enemy and the Americans against Islamic Iran were completely wrong."
The IRGC warned that "effective, targeted and more devastating" operations against vital targets would continue until Israel's "complete destruction."
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz responded: "The arrogant dictator of Tehran has become a cowardly murderer who targets the civilian home front in Israel. The residents of Tehran will pay the price, and soon."
Israel's military said Monday it had struck again at command centers belonging to the Revolutionary Guard and Iran's military.
Two U.S. officials told Reuters that President Trump had vetoed an Israeli plan to kill Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declined to confirm the report, telling Fox News: "We do what we need to do."
Trump has repeatedly called for Iran to agree to tough restrictions on its nuclear program to end the conflict.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told parliament Monday that Iran has no intention to produce nuclear weapons but would continue pursuing its right to nuclear energy and research. The escalation follows Israel's Friday attack that killed top Iranian military commanders and damaged nuclear sites, with Israel vowing the campaign will escalate in the coming days.
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