The conflict between Israel and Iran has turned into open war. What started as years of tension has now become one of the biggest military clashes in the region’s recent history. On Friday, June 13, 2025, Israel launched a major attack on Iran, hitting several important military and nuclear targets, including the capital, Tehran. This article explains what happened and the long history behind the two nations’ conflict.

What happened in the latest Israel-Iran attacks?

Early Friday morning, Israel started a major operation called “Operation Rising Lion”. Israel said it launched this operation because it believed Iran was “approaching the point of no return” in developing a nuclear weapon. Israeli officials claimed they had intelligence showing that Iran was getting close to building such a weapon, which Israel considers a direct threat to its survival.

In the airstrikes, around 200 Israeli Air Force planes dropped 330 munitions on nearly 100 targets in six Iranian cities, including Tehran and Natanz, where Iran has a nuclear facility. Israeli attacks also hit a military airport in Tabriz and the Shiite holy city of Qom. The strikes killed at least 20 senior Iranian commanders, including the chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces, according to regional sources.

Israel also used undercover Mossad agents already inside Iran. These agents carried out secret missions to damage Iran’s air defence systems. A source told the Times of Israel that Mossad had even built a drone base near Tehran to assist in the sabotage operations.

Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations said the attacks killed 78 people and injured more than 320 others—many of them civilians. Iran responded by firing about 100 drones towards Israel. Jordan reported that it intercepted several of these drones and missiles after they entered its airspace and were heading toward populated areas.

Later on Friday evening, Iranian missiles lit up the sky over Tel Aviv. Israel said fewer than 100 missiles were fired, and most of them were intercepted or failed to reach their targets. However, the situation remained dangerous.

On Saturday, June 14, attacks continued. Three people were killed in Israel, and more than 50 were injured. Iran warned Israel’s allies not to help intercept missiles and also suggested that the conflict could spread to American military bases in the region.

By Monday, the number of people killed in Iran had reached at least 224, while 24 people had died in Israel. Both nations’ civilian populations have suffered the most during the attacks.

History of Israel and Iran

Israel and Iran were once allies. Before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran had good relations with Israel. In fact, Iran was the second Muslim-majority country after Turkey to recognise Israel. But everything changed in 1979, when the Shah of Iran was removed from power and an Islamic republic took over. This new government was anti-West and strongly opposed to Israel’s existence.

Since then, Iran has called for the destruction of Israel and does not recognise it as a state. Iran supports Palestinian groups like Hamas and Lebanon-based Hezbollah, both of which oppose Israel. It also helps groups in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen. The U.S. government has said that Iran funds and trains many of these militant groups.

In return, Israel has taken military action against Iranian targets over the years, including assassinations and airstrikes. Israel believes that Iran’s nuclear programme is a major threat to peace in the Middle East.

On Friday, Israel claimed that its strikes were a necessary response to stop Iran from building a nuclear bomb. However, a U.S. intelligence source said there had been no change in America’s view. The source said Iran was not currently building a nuclear weapon, and the country’s top leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had not given permission to restart a weapons program that was shut down in 2003.

Even so, tensions rose when the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN’s nuclear watchdog, said Iran had broken its nuclear rules. The IAEA said Iran now had enough enriched uranium to make nine nuclear bombs, which made the situation more serious than it had been in nearly 20 years.

A long history of shadow war

While the current fighting is new, the conflict between Israel and Iran has been going on for a long time. Since 1985, the two countries have been engaged in a “proxy war”. This means they have supported other groups and fought indirectly, especially in places like Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Gaza.

For example, when Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982, Iran helped form Hezbollah by giving money and weapons to the group. Iran also supports Hamas in Gaza and Houthi rebels in Yemen.

But after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, Israel responded by killing many of Hamas’s top leaders and heavily damaging Hezbollah and Houthi forces. This has left Iran more isolated in the region than before.

Now, the hidden war has turned into open fighting. Israel has taken the bold step of attacking Iran directly, something that hasn’t happened on this scale before. Iran has also fired back with drones and missiles.

The situation remains tense. The war has already killed hundreds of people, most of them civilians, and both countries have warned that more attacks may come. There are fears that the conflict could grow and pull in other countries, including the United States.

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