Israel launches extensive airstrikes on Iran, targets nuclear and military leadership

TEL AVIV / TEHRAN — In a dramatic escalation that marks the most significant direct attack on Iran since the 1980s, Israel launched Operation Rising Lion, a sweeping aerial offensive early Friday, striking nuclear sites and top military leadership across Iran.

A statement from IDF Spokesperson BG Effie Defrin on the preemptive Israeli strike on Iranian nuclear targets pic.twitter.com/IJNT5LXz6o

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) June 13, 2025

According to the Israeli Defense Ministry, over 200 fighter jets supported by Mossad sabotage efforts executed the operation. The assault struck key installations including the uranium enrichment facility at Natanz, Iran’s ballistic missile infrastructure, air defenses, and residences linked to senior commanders.

The Israeli Air Force bombed Iranian ballistic missiles aimed at Israel in its strikes in Iran earlier today, the military says, publishing footage of the strike.

It also publishes a video of strikes on other weaponry in Iran. pic.twitter.com/q5KXxuScbC

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) June 13, 2025

Iranian state media confirmed the deaths of Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Major General Hossein Salami and General Mohammad Bagheri, Chairman of Iran’s Joint Chiefs General Mohammad Bagheri.

Nuclear scientists, including Fereydoun Abbasi and Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi, were among those targeted. Civilian deaths have also been reported across Tehran, Lorestān, and Tabriz.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the operation as a crucial, preemptive strike aimed at averting an “existential threat” from Iran’s nuclear advances. Israeli officials cited intelligence indicating Iran had amassed enough enriched uranium for multiple nuclear weapons.

Prime Minister Netanyahu:
“Moments ago, Israel launched Operation Rising Lion, a targeted military operation to roll back the Iranian threat to Israel’s very survival.

This operation will continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat.” pic.twitter.com/3c8oF1GCYa

— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) June 13, 2025

Iranian forces responded with over 100 drones launched toward Israel, many intercepted over Iraq and Jordan. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared the strike “bitter and painful,” pledging harsh retaliation.

۳ / رژیم صهیونی با این جنایت، برای خود سرنوشت تلخ و دردناکی تدارک دید و آن را قطعاً دریافت خواهد کرد.

سید علی خامنه‌ای
۱۴۰۴/۳/۲۳https://t.co/UCc7PQzT2A

— KHAMENEI.IR | فارسی 🇮🇷 (@Khamenei_fa) June 13, 2025

Defensive measures escalated across the Middle East. Israel closed its airspace and enforced emergency restrictions, and several countries suspended civilian flights amid widespread airport disruptions. Additionally, global oil prices surged on fears of a broader regional conflict.

The IDF said it had “control over the situation,” though it stopped short of confirming that all drones had been neutralized. Civilian warnings issued by the Home Front Command were lifted, though restrictions on public gatherings remain. Sirens had sounded across Israel at 3 AM, an action the IDF later said was based on early threat assessments.

Moreover, Lebanon’s government informed the Hezbollah terror group that it would not tolerate the Iranian proxy joining in Tehran’s response against Israel following the attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, the Saudi news outlet al-Arabiya reported.

“The time when the organization bypassed the state in deciding to go to war is over,” the group was told, according to the report.

The report adds that Lebanese authorities also warned Hezbollah that it would bear responsibility for dragging the country into war.

International Response and Risk of Wider War

Reactions from the international community were swift and mixed. While many Western allies urged de-escalation, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský defended Israel’s operation.

“I see that this was a reasonable reaction from the state of Israel towards a possible threat of a nuclear bomb,” Lipavský said at a press briefing in Prague. He emphasized that Iran’s support for Hezbollah and Hamas, as well as its nuclear ambitions, left Israel with few choices.

“Iran has long failed to fulfill its obligations to the international community … and uses rhetoric aimed at destroying the state of Israel,” he added. Czechia remains one of Israel’s staunchest supporters in Europe, despite criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza following the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led assault.

The Israeli strikes appear to have included precision attacks on ballistic missile systems that were aimed at Israel, the IDF confirmed Friday afternoon, publishing video footage of the assaults. Other clips showed secondary explosions at suspected Iranian weapons factories.

The scope and success of Operation Rising Lion suggests months of intelligence gathering. A military official told The Guardian that the offensive resembled Israel’s “decapitation strategy” used against Hezbollah in previous conflicts — eliminating leadership and paralyzing military operations before they can respond.

While the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported no immediate radiation threat, diplomatic sources say the strikes jeopardize ongoing talks in Oman aimed at reviving the 2015 nuclear deal.

In prior October 2024 strikes, Israel reportedly crippled Iran’s missile factories and air defenses and destroyed a secret nuclear research site near Parchin, highlighting a broader strategy of decapitation strikes aimed at military leadership and infrastructure.