Israel launched a series of strikes against Iran directed at disabling its nuclear program and ballistic missile capabilities and decapitating its military leadership, marking the greatest military exchange between the two countries.
In the early hours of June 13, around 3:30 a.m. local time, explosions were heard across Tehran. The surprise attack hit Iranian missile sites, nuclear facilities, military command-and-control centers, and the apartments of military leaders and nuclear scientists. The strikes occurred shortly after President Donald Trump reportedly urged Israel against the strikes, and the United States has sought to distance itself from the attack.
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Here is everything you need to know about the greatest military action taken against Iran since the Iran-Iraq War of 1980-1988:
What happened?
Israel and Iran have been on the brink of war since Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel and sought to trigger a response from Iran and its proxies. Israel’s widespread battering of Iran’s proxies and allies across the Middle East, particularly Hezbollah in Iran and the Assad regime in Syria, increasingly emboldened Jerusalem, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seeking to achieve his decadeslong goal of destroying Iran’s nuclear program with military strikes.
Despite Trump’s warnings to the contrary, Israel executed a series of long-range strikes against Iran. The plan took over eight months to make, according to Axios, and was one of Israel’s most complex operations yet.
Israeli air and missile strikes were reported against Tehran, Natanz, Iran’s main uranium enrichment facility, Tabriz, Kermanshah, and Borujerd. The Israel Defense Forces reported that the attacks, code-named Operation Rising Lion, would take place over several days.
The strikes weren’t only carried out by Israeli aircraft. Mossad and other Israeli intelligence operatives deployed precision weapons near Iranian missile and air defense launchers, striking them to prevent an effective response and establish freedom of movement for Israeli planes. An Israeli official said Mossad built a secret explosive drone base within Iran that was utilized for the strikes.
One of the most surprising details of the operation was its decapitation strikes, with videos and images showing damage directed against individual apartment blocks belonging to Iranian officials and persons of interest.
So far, the operation has reportedly exceeded Israel’s expectations.
In one instance, Israel tricked the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’s top air force commanders into meeting at a monitored location, where they were killed in a strike.
“We did specific activities to help us understand things about them and then used that information to make them act in a specific way,” a source told Fox News. “We knew this would make them meet, but more importantly, we knew how to keep them there.”
Who was killed in the decapitation strikes?
The IDF said its strikes hit “over 100 targets, including senior figures of the Iranian General Staff and leaders of the nuclear program.”
An Israeli security source told Fox News that over 20 sites, including apartments and offices, were hit in less than 15 minutes.
Iranian state media reported that Gen. Hossein Salami, the chief commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the head of the Guard’s missile program, senior Guard Cmdr. Gholam Ali Rashid, and Mohammad Bagheri, the chief of Iran’s armed forces, were all killed in the strikes.
Israel linked the deaths of several commanders with a 2019 strike against Saudi Arabia, likely looking to elicit sympathy from the kingdom, which criticized the strikes.
Among the scientists and nuclear officials assassinated were Fereydoon Abbasi, former head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization; Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi, a major figure in Iran’s nuclear weapons program; Abdulhamid Minouchehr, head of nuclear engineering at Shahid Beheshti University; Ahmad Reza Zolfaghari, nuclear engineering professor at Shahid Beheshti University; and Amirhossein Feqhi, a nuclear professor at the university.
Israel assessed that many other senior commanders had also been killed, but these haven’t yet been confirmed.
What was Israel’s rationale?
For decades, Israel has warned that Iran was on the verge of creating a nuclear weapon, but Israel became increasingly concerned over the past year that Iran would expedite efforts in response to its conventional deterrence being destroyed, particular due to Hezbollah’s crippling. Analysts outside of Israel backed Jerusalem’s view, with the International Atomic Energy Agency’s board of government declaring earlier this week that Iran was in breach of its nonproliferation obligations for the first time.
In a Friday speech, Netanyahu presented the strikes as essential to preserving Israel’s sovereignty and existence.
“Moments ago, Israel launched Operation Rising Lion, a targeted military operation to roll back the Iranian threat to Israel’s very survival,” he said in a televised address, adding, “This operation will continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat.”
“I told our security leadership: We have no alternative but to act swiftly,” Netanyahu said. “We can’t leave these threats for the next generation. If we don’t act now, there won’t be a next generation.”
He repeatedly cited the Holocaust as a reason to be vigilant against a nuclear-capable Iran.
“Together, with God’s help, we will ensure Israel’s eternity,” Netanyahu said.
How is Iran reacting?
Iran didn’t launch a massive military response, but Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned of “severe punishment” in a series of posts on X.
“In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful To the great Iranian nation! Zionist regime has committed a crime in our dear country today at dawn with its satanic, bloodstained hands. It has revealed its malicious nature even more than before by targeting residential areas,” he said.
“By God’s grace, the powerful arm of the Islamic Republic’s Armed Forces won’t let them go unpunished,” Khamenei added.
He promised the swift replacement of military and scientific leaders. Gen. Sayyid Abdolrahim Mousavi was named as Bagheri’s replacement as head of the armed forces, Major Gen. Mohammad Pakpour was named to replace Salami as head of the Guard, and Major Gen. Ali Shadmani was named to replace Rashid.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran would “strongly take action” against Israel, promising “a severe, wise and strong answer to the occupier regime.”
Iran didn’t declare war against Israel in its first statements after the strikes, as had been originally suspected.
The IDF reported roughly 100 drones were launched against Israel in the aftermath, but Iran said they were launched from allied militias in Iraq.
How is the US reacting?
The U.S. sought to distance itself from the strikes, noting it was committed to diplomacy and that Israel acted unilaterally.
“Tonight, Israel took unilateral action against Iran. We are not involved in strikes against Iran and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region. Israel advised us that they believe this action was necessary for its self-defense. President Trump and the Administration have taken all necessary steps to protect our forces and remain in close contact with our regional partners. Let me be clear: Iran should not target U.S. interests or personnel,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.
Trump lamented that Iran hadn’t made a deal with him to halt the strikes.
“I gave Iran chance after chance to make a deal. I told them, in the strongest of words, to ‘just do it,’ but no matter how hard they tried, no matter how close they got, they just couldn’t get it done. I told them it would be much worse than anything they know, anticipated, or were told, that the United States makes the best and most lethal military equipment anywhere in the World, BY FAR, and that Israel has a lot of it, with much more to come – And they know how to use it,” he said.
“Certain Iranian hardliner’s spoke bravely, but they didn’t know what was about to happen. They are all DEAD now, and it will only get worse! There has already been great death and destruction, but there is still time to make this slaughter,” Trump continued, adding that the next attacks were already planned and would be “even more brutal.”
“Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left, and save what was once known as the Iranian Empire. No more death, no more destruction, JUST DO IT, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE. God Bless You All!” he concluded.
The president also noted the strikes occurred 61 days after he proposed a 60-day deadline to Iran.
How is Russia reacting?
Russia, an ally of Iran, denounced Israel’s actions. Its foreign ministry said Israel violated “the Charter of the United Nations and international law.”
“Unprovoked military strikes on a sovereign UN member state, its citizens and its peacefully slumbering cities, as well as its nuclear energy infrastructure, are categorically unacceptable. The international community cannot afford to be indifferent toward such atrocities, which undermine peace and damage regional and international security,” it said.
The ministry also blamed the West for provoking “anti-Iranian hysteria,” urging all parties to “exercise restraint.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, “Russia is concerned and condemns the sharp escalation of tensions.”
How are regional players and the world reacting?
The attacks were widely condemned across the board, with no major entities openly endorsing them.
IAEA head Rafael Grossi warned that nuclear facilities “must never be attacked” and such strikes have “serious implications for nuclear safety, security and safeguards, as well as regional and international peace and security.”
The Saudi Press Agency said Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan spoke with Iran’s top diplomat, Abbas Araghchi, and he “expressed the Kingdom’s condemnation of the blatant Israeli aggression against the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the strikes were “deeply alarming.”
“Europe urges all parties to exercise maximum restraint, de-escalate immediately and refrain from retaliation. A diplomatic resolution is now more urgent than ever, for the sake of the region’s stability and global security,” she said.
Jordan, Iraq, Japan, Turkey, Indonesia, and the United Nations condemned the attacks. France, Australia, NATO, and the United Kingdom called for restraint and de-escalation.
The Houthis and Hamas, key Iranian allies, issued harsh condemnations.
ISRAEL LAUNCHES STRIKES AGAINST IRAN ON SAME DAY TRUMP OBJECTED TO ATTACKS
How are oil prices affected?
Oil prices spiked after news of the strikes spread, with Brent crude, the international benchmark, rising 7.8% to $74.89, the Associated Press reported. However, Richard Joswick, head of near-term oil at S&P Global Commodity Insights, noted that previous blows between Iran and Israel saw a similar pattern, which quickly reversed.