There is a limit to how much laser power you can shoot through the air. When the threshold for breakdown is exceeded, a high density plasma is produced which is opaque to visible and infrared wavelengths and thus absorbs the laser radiation.
The moon does not have this laser power limit, but moving Tel Aviv to the moon would quite expensive and you would lose the mediterranean climate.
On the flip side, you'd be really far away from Iran.
Also your statement seems incorrect to me, there is no hard stop for lasers in regards to atmospheric effects. Air is not some sort of invincible laser armor, there is definitely loss, but air does not magically ramp up it's ability to diffuse or diffract laser light without limit. If you shot a terawatt laser at earth from orbit, it would definitely hit earth and obliterate whatever it hits (it would also do horrible things to the air on it's way down that would be like a long linear nuclear bomb). I'm not suggesting one needs anything close to a terawatt laser to have an effective military power laser, either, just giving an example of why the above statement is incorrect.
There is no need to use concentrated heat to heat up a tea - your target is making a tea, not making a hole in kettle.
I assume that even if you don't burn through a descending missile, merely deforming the nose cone can still cause it to go off course.
Might make rent just a little bit cheaper though.