Israel's defense minister warns Iran's supreme leader of Saddam Hussein's fate

Israel's defense minister threatened Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Tuesday with a fate similar to former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

“I warn the Iranian dictator against continuing to commit war crimes and launching missiles at Israeli civilians,” Israel Katz said during a situational assessment cited by Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper.

“He (Khamenei) should remember what happened to the dictator in the country neighboring Iran who went down this path against the State of Israel,” he added, in reference to Saddam Hussein, who was overthrown in 2003 during the US invasion of Iraq and was later hanged.

Katz says, referring to Hussein, an Iraqi leader who was overthrown in 2003 during the US invasion of Iraq and later found hiding in a desert hole and hanged.

Regional tensions have escalated since Friday, when Israel launched coordinated airstrikes on multiple sites across Iran, including military and nuclear facilities, prompting Tehran to launch retaliatory strikes.

Israeli authorities said that at least 24 people have been killed and hundreds injured in Iranian missile attacks since Friday.

Iran, for its part, said that at least 224 people have been killed and over 1,000 others wounded in the Israeli assault.