‘They sent missiles, we sent a bill’: Tel Aviv suburb sues Iran for NIS 250 million over wartime damages

Bat Yam has filed a NIS 250 million lawsuit against Iran over the destruction caused by an Iranian missile strike during Operation Rising Lion, after nine residents were killed, 178 were wounded and 160 buildings were damaged in the city. Twenty-two of those buildings had to be demolished immediately. The case, initiated by Mayor Tzvika Brot, who also served as Likud’s campaign manager in Israel’s recent election, was filed in Jerusalem District Court.

The lawsuit was prepared in Hebrew and translated into Persian by an international legal team led by attorney Nitsana Darshan-Leitner of the Shurat HaDin–Israel Law Center. To move the case forward, the city needed to show that an official Iranian representative had received the lawsuit or at least been given an opportunity to read it. Brot and members of his delegation therefore traveled to Manhattan last week, where, in coordination with Israeli officials, U.S. authorities and security personnel, they sought out a diplomat from Iran’s mission to the United Nations.

The operation, which took four months to prepare, included lookouts stationed near UN headquarters while the team waited in a nearby office tower. During the preparations, the team compiled identification profiles of senior Iranian diplomats in New York, gathered information about their movements and mapped routes they were known to use with the help of local contacts. The group chose to approach the diplomat in a public area rather than on Iranian diplomatic premises, which Brot could not enter.

Lookouts eventually spotted the first secretary of Iran’s UN mission leaving a building, and Brot’s delegation followed him. When the diplomat stopped at a traffic light, Brot approached and introduced himself. The Iranian representative said he was a diplomat and was not permitted to engage with them, then tried to walk away. The group continued alongside him through Manhattan for several minutes and read the contents of the lawsuit aloud, an effort intended to establish that he had been given notice of the proceedings.

Bat Yam was among the Israeli cities hardest hit during the June 2025 war with Iran. The missile strike left nine people dead and 178 wounded, damaged 160 buildings and forced the immediate demolition of 22. Thousands of residents were displaced, with the municipality arranging alternative housing as part of the recovery effort. Over the past year, Brot assembled the legal team that ultimately filed the case. Iran now has 60 days to respond to the lawsuit.

Bat Yam officials expect Tehran not to participate in the proceedings, which could allow the municipality to seek a default judgment. Even if it wins, however, the central question will be how the city could actually collect the money. Municipal officials are looking at funds connected to the Eilat-Ashkelon Pipeline Company, a joint Israeli-Iranian venture established before Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, when the two countries still had diplomatic ties.

An international arbitration ruling later ordered Israel to pay Iran about $1.1 billion over its share in the project, but Israel has refused to transfer the money because of restrictions on financial dealings with an enemy state. Bat Yam hopes that if its lawsuit succeeds, part of those funds could ultimately be redirected to compensate the city. Brot received backing for the move from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as well as the Foreign Ministry, National Security Council, Justice Ministry and security officials, according to people involved in the initiative.

Government legal officials had previously opposed attempts to seize money connected to the pipeline dispute, but sources involved in the matter say that objection has since been lifted. ynet also learned that Israel previously used some of the funds in secret to help finance construction of the West Bank security barrier. The municipality gave the operation to serve the lawsuit the name “Open Account.” “Bat Yam has an open account with Iran, and that is why we called the operation that,” Brot said.

“They sent us missiles, and we sent them a bill. Their representative may have tried to get away from us on the streets of New York, but they will not escape responsibility for what they did to my city.” Darshan-Leitner added: “It is time for the Iranians to pay for their actions. We will continue fighting on behalf of terror victims until we economically bring down the ayatollahs’ regime.”