Putting an end to all speculations, Israel launched unprecedented airstrikes on Iran on June 13, 2025 night (local time), targeting the nuclear facilities of the Islamic Republic. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin ‘Bibi’ Netanyahu confirmed the news in the morning, stressing that the attack, codenamed Operation Rising Lion, would last many days. As expected, the Israeli airstrikes have plunged West Asia into fresh uncertainty by increasing the risk of a(nother) regional war as the Zionist Regime braces for Iran’s retaliation.

The Government of Iran has claimed that the Jewish Nation carried out airstrikes not only in Tehran, but also in adjacent areas. A senior Israeli military official admitted that they were targeting only the nuclear facilities of Iran. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz, too, confirmed the news, without disclosing the specific locations where the attacks were carried out.

Tehran has further claimed that General Hossein Salami, the Commander-in-Chief of its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), was among those killed in the Israeli attacks. However, the full extent of the damage is still unclear. Iranian television showed black smoke rising from Natanz nuclear enrichment facility, but offered no damage assessment.

Interestingly, Israel has declared a State of Emergency due to fears of a counterattack by Iran. AFP reported that the Operation Rising Lion might have killed Major General Mohammad Bagheri (born Mohammad-Hossein Afshordi), the Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, as well. He was a former top commander of the IRGC. Citing several senior Israeli officials, AFP reported that a number of Iranian nuclear scientists were also killed in the Israeli airstrikes. Meanwhile, IRNA, the state-run news agency of Iran, reported that Bagheri was safe and was monitoring the situation.

Meanwhile, the US has made it clear that it is not at all interested in getting involved in the Israel-Iran conflict. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated on June 13: “Israel took unilateral action against Iran and the US is not involved in strikes.” He added that the top priority of the US was to protect its own forces in the region. Rubio further said: “Israel advised us that they believe this action was necessary for its self-defence. 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 US interests or personnel.”

On June 11, 2025, the Reuters quoted a US intelligence report as stating that Israel was making preparations to attack the Iranian nuclear facilities. Shortly after the report was published, the Government of Iran made a cryptic post on X, stating: “WE ARE READY.” In another post, the Islamic Republic wrote: “The United States Government has no authority, or business, dictating Iranian foreign policy. That era ended in 1979!” The second post also featured a video of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Hosseini Khamenei walking around tagged as Winner in contrast to US Presidents, including Donald John Trump, under the category Losers.

Earlier, Israel issued a statement, mentioning that Tehran must sign a nuclear deal or face further attacks that could end its rule. Tel Aviv also said that Iran could avoid the Israeli attacks if it was honest in US talks. A senior Israeli official told the press: “Iran deceived the United States during the negotiations and tried to buy time while continuing uranium enrichment. Had Iran entered the negotiations with sincere intentions, Israel would not have attacked.” As the agreement between Tehran and Washington DC on signing a nuclear deal virtually collapsed in the first week of June 2025, Israel decided to carry out airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities on June 13.

Meanwhile, Brigadier General Abolfazl Shekarchi, the senior spokesperson of the Iranian Armed Forces, has warned that both Israel and the US would pay a heavy price for the strikes that claimed lives of innocent civilians, including children. Iran has also shut its airspace until further notice.

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das