Trump’s Casus Belli? US Embassy Damaged By Iranian Missile Strike In Tel Aviv

In what Washington will likely see as a major escalation from the Iranian side which could open an ‘opportunity’ for direct US military involvement in the now four-day long Iran-Israel war, the US Embassy in Tel Aviv has sustained “minor damage” by an Iranian ballistic missile.

A volley of Iranian missiles targeted the area early Monday, amid a major overnight surge in missile launches on Israel out of the Islamic Republic. There are no reports which say there was any kind of direct hit.

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee confirmed on X: “Some minor damage from concussions of Iranian missile hits near Embassy Branch in @TelAviv but no injuries to US personnel,” he wrote.

“Our US Embassy Jerusalem… & Consulate will officially remain closed today as shelter in place still in effect,” Huckabee announced.

The US Embassy had controversially been relocated to Jerusalem as Trump had during his first term recognized the divided city as the capital of Israel, which was fiercely contested by Palestinians and Arab nations.

However, the Tel Aviv branch has remained operational as a major consulate or embassy extension, as the Jerusalem location still undergoes the process of getting fully established.

Starting Saturday the US State Department urged family members of embassy staffers to depart the country, as well as select non-essential personnel; however, shelter in place orders have largely remained and Israel has closed air space and traffic to all inbound and outbound flights.

On Monday, there are widespread reports that dozens of US Air Force tankers have in the last several hours taken off from the United States and headed towards Europe, as also confirmed in Flightradar24 and Air Live.

The exchange of missiles and airstrikes doesn’t look to abate anytime soon, given an Iranian advisor to the IRGC Commander has also been quoted in newswires on Monday as vowing–

“We are ready for a long war and haven’t yet made strategic use of missile capabilities.”

While Israeli cities have clearly suffered serious damage, and Israel’s much touted missile defense protection system is being overwhelmed and in many instances failing, the Islamic Republic and especially Tehran and oil depots have suffered more severe damage.

The U.S. Embassy in Israel was bombed?#IranUnderAttack #Israel pic.twitter.com/nPccNpmW1k

— ShanghaiPanda (@thinking_panda) June 16, 2025

At least eight have been killed in Israel, and hundreds injured, as a result of the Iranian missile attacks. In Iran, the death toll is much higher, though fresh casualty reports have been hard to come by.

At this point it’s increasingly looking like Israel is going for regime change, and wants to drag America into the fight. With reports of the US Embassy (Tel Aviv consulate) having suffered damage, will this be Trump’s casus belli?