From the Liveblog of
Monday, June 8, 2026
Israeli envoy in US: Israel won’t tolerate Iran firing missiles that can level entire neighborhoods
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleJacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
As Israel responded this morning to last night’s Tehran’s missile attacks by striking in western and central Iran, Jerusalem’s ambassador in Washington Yechiel Leiter issues a tweet explaining the decision to do so, despite pressure from US President Donald Trump to show restraint.
“Iran fired 11 ballistic missiles at Israel today. Each one of those missiles can level an entire neighborhood and kill hundreds. No self-respecting country in the world would tolerate such an attack, and neither will Israel,” Leiter writes on X.
“Israel is now targeting Iranian surface-to-surface missile launch sites, as well as infrastructure facilities unrelated to the energy sector,” he adds, notably indicating that Israel refrained from targeting Iran’s energy sites.
“The people of Lebanon have rejected Iran’s proxy, Hezbollah, and have told Iran to get out of their country,” he claims. “If Hezbollah fires at Israel, its command centers in the Dahiyeh will be hit hard,” Leiter warns. “This has nothing to do with Iran.”
“Everyone has had enough of this maniacal Iranian regime,” he insists.
Leiter is one of the only Israeli officials publicly commenting on the tit-for-tat with Iran and its proxies that began yesterday. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been largely mum, as he faced mounting calls from political rivals and coalition partners to buck Trump — something he apparently decided to do by striking Iran, despite the US president’s reported urging not to do so.
Trump had claimed in one of the many phone interviews he had held in recent hours with cold-calling journalists that he is the one “calling the shots,” not Netanyahu.
The Times of Israel Community.