Bat Yam Sues Iran for $70 Million Over 2025 Attack Damages

The Israeli city of Bat Yam has filed a lawsuit against Iran and its Revolutionary Guard, seeking 250 million shekels (approximately $70 million) in damages. The suit, filed at the Jerusalem District Court with the support of the organization Shurat Hadin, pertains to the extensive damage inflicted on the city during a twelve-day conflict with Iran in June 2025, referred to as Operation "Am Kalavi." Mayor Zvika Brot personally traveled to New York to serve the legal papers on an official Iranian representative at the United Nations. After a two-month preparation period involving Israeli and U.S. government and security officials, Brot and his team located the Iranian representative outside the country's embassy. The representative attempted to flee but was pursued through Manhattan streets until the lawsuit was read aloud, fulfilling a procedural requirement for the case to proceed. The representative refused to physically accept the documents.

During the Iranian rocket attacks, 160 buildings in Bat Yam were damaged, with 22 requiring demolition. Nine residents were killed and 178 injured. The lawsuit specifically covers damages to municipal property and infrastructure, not personal injuries or private property losses for which the state is responsible. "The Mullahs sent rockets, we are sending them the bill," stated Mayor Brot, emphasizing that the decision to sue was made after witnessing the devastation, including rescuing infants and the elderly from rubble and seeing 1.5% of the city's population become homeless.

Nitzana Darshan-Leitner, chairwoman of Shurat Hadin, declared that it is time for Iran to pay for its actions and that the regime cannot hide behind sovereign immunity while firing rockets at civilians. She asserted that the fight against Iran extends beyond the battlefield to include courts, bank accounts, and financial resources, with the goal of causing the "economic collapse of the Ayatollah regime." Iran has 60 days from the date of service to respond to the lawsuit, after which Bat Yam can seek a default judgment. The city hopes to recover funds, at least partially, from over $1 billion in assets that Israel is withholding from Iran, related to an arbitration ruling concerning the Eilat-Ashkelon oil pipeline.