Jerusalem’s Holiest Site at Risk as Iranian Missiles Target City

Recent Iranian missile strikes have landed dangerously close to Jerusalem's Temple Mount, raising concerns about potential damage to one of the world's most sacred religious sites. The compound, revered by Muslims, Jews, and Christians, could become the center of international crisis if directly hit.

Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, housing the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock, faces growing danger as Iranian ballistic missiles and debris continue falling near Jerusalem’s Old City. The sacred compound, cherished by Muslims, Jews, and Christians alike, sits at the heart of religious disputes, political conflicts, and conspiracy theories that could transform a direct strike into a worldwide catastrophe.

The religious significance of this location spans three major faiths. Jewish tradition holds this as the location where the First and Second Temples once stood. Muslims consider it home to Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock. Christians view it as part of Jerusalem’s holy landscape, connected to Jesus’ ministry and teachings. Rarely does such a compact area hold such enormous religious, historical, and political importance.

Currently, the Islamic Waqf, a Muslim religious organization under Jordan’s oversight, manages the site’s daily operations. While increasing numbers of Jews have visited and sometimes prayed at the location recently, the established arrangement has largely continued since Israel gained control of eastern Jerusalem in 1967. This framework allows the Waqf to handle religious and administrative matters while Israel maintains security responsibilities.

Though Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock hold particular importance in Sunni Arab religious and political discussions, the location also holds meaning in Shiite Islam. Iran’s Shiite leaders have long viewed Jerusalem not merely as a religious symbol but as a central component of their revolutionary identity and anti-Israel stance, making any nearby strike particularly dangerous.

Multiple fragments and smaller explosive devices have fallen in and around the Old City recently. Last Friday, an impact created a crater in a roadway and parking area within the Jewish Quarter, merely hundreds of meters from the Western Wall and Temple Mount.

During earlier phases of the conflict, debris also hit Sultan’s Pool, an ancient water reservoir beneath the Old City walls that historically supplied Jerusalem’s water system and now serves as an outdoor concert location, along with other nearby strikes.

As the conflict with Iran progresses, experts debate whether Tehran deliberately aims at the Temple Mount or if the threat to this area results from long-distance missile inaccuracy, widespread debris from interceptions, or a combination of factors. Last week, Iran reportedly stated it directed drones toward Israel’s National Security Ministry in Jerusalem as retaliation for recent killings of senior officials. Tuesday night, footage showed Israeli Defense Forces intercepting missiles aimed at the Holy City.

Some experts have informed The Media Line that many of these missiles function essentially as suicide attacks and that Iran no longer possesses accurate guidance capabilities due to extensive Israeli damage to its launchers and airspace. Others maintain that Iran retains targeting abilities and continues using them.

The question of what would occur if a missile struck the Temple Mount has moved beyond theoretical consideration.

Hillel Fuld, an experienced high-tech marketing influencer and prominent pro-Israel social media personality, shared with The Media Line that “everyone would blame the Jews and conspiracy theories would fly.”

“I go back and forth about whether the Iranian missiles are super targeted or firing in all directions,” Fuld explained. “I really don’t know. Any normal, rational person would say there is no way Iran is targeting the Temple Mount. But Iran is so unhinged that I would not put it past them, especially if they were targeting it so the world would turn on Israel.”

Based on responses from over 100 people who answered a similar question Fuld posted on X this week, many believe the world would likely blame Israel and Jewish people.

“The world blames Israel,” one respondent commented. “Riots in the streets worldwide, Jews slaughtered. The truth comes out the next day, and no one cares that it was Iran that caused the destruction because it no longer fits their narrative.”

Another X user wrote, “Iran and bot farms scream Israel did it, false flag, and try to stir up [a] march on Jerusalem.”

Rabbi Tuly Weisz, founder of Israel365, who collaborates closely with Christian and religious Zionists on matters concerning Jewish sovereignty in Judea and Samaria and the Temple Mount, suggested that Iran might even claim responsibility if it struck Al-Aqsa Mosque.

“In some twisted way, they would probably try to prove it as being good for their version of Islam,” Weisz shared with The Media Line.

Simultaneously, Weisz proposed that worldwide reaction might not persist as long as anticipated. Several weeks ago, when debris struck near the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, major Christian organizations provided limited condemnation of Iran. One of the few statements came from the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, an evangelical organization, rather than Orthodox Christian institutions that utilize the site. Instead, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate criticized Israel for restricting church access for security purposes, noting the absence of bomb shelters in the Old City.

“I feel like everyone would just continue to use it to support their narrative,” Weisz stated.

He suggested that a nation like Saudi Arabia might even “rejoice” at eliminating Islam’s third-holiest site, as this could strengthen its position as the primary guardian of Islamic holy locations.

A direct impact on the compound could initiate a chain reaction extending far beyond Jerusalem, fueling existing suspicions, intensifying religious emotions, and increasing diplomatic pressure on Israel regardless of who fired the missile.

These concerns stem from more than the current conflict. The mount’s sensitivity has historically generated conspiracy theories. Since at least the 1920s, during Jerusalem Grand Mufti Hajj Amin al-Husseini’s era, allegations have spread claiming Jews sought to harm or destroy the Muslim holy sites to make room for a Third Temple.

Similar stories continue today. Repeated rumors claim Israel excavates what it calls the Kotel Tunnels beneath the compound in ways that might weaken the structure, so if a missile struck, the mosque would collapse and clear space for reconstruction. This rumor has never been verified.

Allegations about Jewish intentions toward the site have also appeared in Western media recently. American commentator Tucker Carlson has accused Israel, during interviews on his program, of seeking to rebuild the Temple and advance a “Greater Israel” vision.

While such claims spread widely online, they lack foundation in official Israeli policy or mainstream religious practice.

Carlson, in one recent episode, accused Chabad Hasidim of “pushing in a pretty subtle way … for the reconstruction of the Third Temple.”

In another episode, featuring an interview with Beijing-based educator and international analyst Jiang Xueqin, Carlson permitted discussion of a “worst-case scenario,” which “would include a nuclear strike by one or more actors and the destruction of the Aqsa Mosque complex in Jerusalem, which would spark a religious war.”

Xueqin went further, accusing various Jewish and Christian sects of working for centuries to build the Third Temple and bring the messianic age. He claimed the basic elements of that vision include “the creation of the state, the nation-state of Israel, which happened in 1948. And then you need to have the building of the Third Temple, which requires the destruction of Al-Aqsa Mosque … which could happen during this war, given what we’ve seen so far.”

He continued, “There’s actually talk among Israelis of using this plan to ignite a war between the Arabs and the Persians. … They also talk about the war of Gog and Magog between Israel and the entire world. Then, the coming of the Jewish Messiah, the creation of the Greater Israel project, the return of all Jews from the Diaspora. … If you just observe geopolitical events, we’re seeing these events converge together today.”

Jews have prayed for Temple reconstruction for nearly 2,000 years, since Roman destruction in 70 CE. However, this is not Israel’s official policy, nor do many contemporary rabbis support it, with some still prohibiting Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount.

Weisz and Fuld acknowledged that Jewish community members have prepared for the Third Temple’s return and are creating instruments for use on the mount. They emphasized, however, that these represent fringe groups and that the government would unlikely make dramatic policy changes even if Temple Mount damage occurred.

Recent political responses support this position. Even in August 2024, on the Jewish fast day of Tisha B’Av, which commemorates Temple destruction, when National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir visited the Temple Mount and suggested the status quo had changed, the Prime Minister’s Office quickly responded.

“It is the government and the prime minister who determine policy on the Temple Mount,” the Prime Minister’s Office stated. “Israel’s policy on the Temple Mount has not changed; this is how it has been, and this is how it will be.”

Regardless of the motivation behind Jerusalem-area strikes, the danger is evident: A Temple Mount hit would not remain a localized military incident. It would almost certainly become a religious, political, and diplomatic crisis extending far beyond the battlefield.

Weisz, however, expressed a different vision for the mount, one that could emerge if such an attack reshaped ground realities.

“My dream is for a synagogue, church, and mosque to be built on the Temple Mount like the Abrahamic Family House in the United Arab Emirates,” Weisz told The Media Line, referencing the biblical verse in Isaiah 56:7, which states, “for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all people.”

He added, “If the territory became available, that would be a beautiful way to end this for Israel and the region.”