In an unprecedented operation, Israel attacked targets in more than a dozen locations and cities across Iran. Codenamed Operation Rising Lion, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Mossad damaged key nuclear sites and military installations, killing several top Iranian military officials. The attack was the largest against Iran since the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s. In the early morning hours of June 13, explosions were reported across Tehran, including near military bases and in residential neighborhoods. Iranian nuclear facilities were targeted in Natanz, Khondab, and Khorramabad. Iran reported that the attack killed Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Commander Hossein Salami, Iranian Armed Forces Chief of Staff Major General Mohammad Bagheri, nuclear scientists Fereydoon Abbasi and Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi, and civilians, including 20 children. Attacks resumed in the afternoon and evening of June 13, with attacks reported near Tabriz airport and at the Natanz and Fordow nuclear sites. Residential buildings in Tehran were also attacked. On the evening of June 13, 2025, Iran began launching a series of retaliatory strikes against Israel with hundreds of missiles.
