Israel-Iran war: Iran officials call on countries to join ‘Islamic army’ to combat Israeli attacks

Fears of an all-out war in the Middle East are growing as Iran officials call on several nations in hope of forming an ‘Islamic army’ to combat Israel.

Mohsen Rezaee, a top Iranian official, has called on Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan to join an ‘Islamic army’ to combat Israel, as tension and attacks continue in the troubled region.

“We want to form an Islamic army with Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and several other countries,” he told Iranian media.

On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed the IDF had killed Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps intelligence chief Brigadier General Mohammad Kazemi and his deputy, General Hassan Mohaqiq.

“Moments ago, I can tell you we got their chief intelligence officer and his deputy in Tehran,” Mr Netanyahu told Fox News.

The confirmation came as US officials told Reuters that US President Donald Trump vetoed an Israeli plan to kill Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

“Have the Iranians killed an American yet? No. Until they do, we’re not even talking about going after the political leadership,” said one of the sources, a senior US administration official.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said top US officials have been in constant communications with Israeli officials in the days since Israel launched its attack.

They said Israeli officials reported that they had an opportunity to kill Mr Khamenei but Mr Trump waved them off of the plan.

Tension in the region has showed no sign of easing.

On Monday, Tasmin, a news outlet in Iran, claimed that an Israeli “clandestine drone-manufacturing site” had been discovered.

As conflict intensifies between Israel and Iran, Mr Netanyahu has alleged Iran wants to kill Mr Trump, saying the country sees him as ‘enemy number one’.

“They want to kill him. He’s enemy number one,” he told Fox News’ Bret Baier.

“He took up this fake agreement and basically tore it up. He killed Qasem Soleimani. He made it very clear, including now, ‘You cannot have a nuclear weapon, which means you cannot enrich uranium.’ He’s been very forceful, so for them, he’s enemy number one.”

The claim came after more Israeli strikes targeted Tehran and other parts of the country’s west.

In retaliation, a “fourth wave” of the Iranian attacks was launched, with Israelis put on edge as sirens and emergency shelter orders continue. Iranian missiles were seen over Tel Aviv.

In Iran, more Israeli strikes were conducted, with large blasts reported across Tehran.

Mr Trump has so far avoided further involving the United States in the conflict and on Sunday, took to his social media platform, Truth Social, to declare that Israel and Iran would have peace “soon”.

He added that there were many unspecified meetings happening and that the two countries should make a deal.

“Iran and Israel should make a deal, and will make a deal,” Mr Trump said on Truth Social, adding that “we will have PEACE, soon”.

“Many calls and meetings now taking place,” he said.

Mr Trump did not offer any details about the meetings or evidence of progress toward peace.

His assertion contradicted comments by Mr Netanyahu, who said on Saturday that Israel’s campaign against Iran would intensify.

A White House spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on how Mr Trump and the White House were working to de-escalate the situation in the Middle East.

Mr Trump, who portrays himself as a peacemaker and has drawn criticism from many of his supporters for not being able to prevent the Israel-Iran conflict, cited other disputes that he took responsibility for solving, including between India and Pakistan, and lamented not getting more praise for doing so.

“I do a lot, and never get credit for anything, but that’s OK, the PEOPLE understand. MAKE THE MIDDLE EAST GREAT AGAIN!” he wrote.

Australia is worried about the “potential for escalation” in the Middle East as casualties mount in the latest conflict between Israel and Iran, acting Prime Minister Richard Marles has said.

“We are very worried about the potential for escalation here. Obviously, the way in which this has unfolded over the last few days has been a matter of deep concern, and we are worried about this going to a place of being a broader conflict,” he told ABC Radio on Monday.

“That is why we are exercising our voice, along with countries like the United States, like France, Germany, the UK, to urge for diplomacy and dialogue in this moment.”

Israeli rescue teams combed through rubble of residential buildings destroyed by Iranian missiles on Sunday, using sniffer dogs and heavy excavators to look for survivors after at least 10 people, including children, were killed, raising the two-day toll to 13.

Sirens rang out across Israel after 4pm in the first such daylight alert, and fresh explosions could be heard in Tel Aviv.

In Iran, images from the capital Tehran showed the night sky lit up by a huge blaze at a fuel depot after Israel began strikes against Iran’s oil and gas sector, raising the stakes for the global economy and the functioning of the Iranian state.

Iranian authorities have not given a full death toll but said 78 people were killed on Friday and scores more have died since, including in a single attack that killed 60 on Saturday, half of them children, in a 14-storey apartment block flattened in Tehran.

At least 14 Iranian nuclear scientists have been killed in Israeli attacks since Friday, including in car bombs, two sources in the Gulf said on Sunday.

Israel launched “Operation Rising Lion” with a surprise attack on Friday morning that wiped out the top echelon of Iran’s military command and damaged its nuclear sites, and says the campaign will continue to escalate in the coming days.

Iran has vowed to “open the gates of hell” in retaliation.

The Israeli military warned Iranians living near weapons facilities to leave.

“Iran will pay a heavy price for the murder of civilians, women and children,” Mr Netanyahu said from a balcony overlooking blown-out apartments in the town of Bat Yam where six people were killed.

An official said Israel still had a long list of targets in Iran and declined to say how long the offensive would continue.

Those attacked on Saturday evening included two “dual-use” fuel sites that supported military and nuclear operations, he said.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran’s responses will grow “more decisive and severe” if Israel’s hostile actions continue.