Iran

Israel Releases Details of Unprecedented Attack on Iran

Published on: June 13, 2025 at 6:01 PM
Stefano D'Urso Stefano D'Urso
Israel attack on Iran first wave
Israeli F-16s prepare to depart to conduct the first wave of attacks on Iranian targets. (Image credit: Israeli Air Force)

Israeli media claim this could be just the opening stage of a two-week campaign against Iran.

In the early hours of June 13, 2025, about 200 Israeli aircraft struck multiple targets across Iran as part of Operation Rising Lion. You can read more about this in our earlier reporting here.

Contents
Israeli media claim this could be just the opening stage of a two-week campaign against Iran.The reactionsThe attackThe aftermath of the first waveAttacks continue

As the hours go by, new details are emerging, showing the complexity of this attack. The scale of Operation Rising Lion is also unprecedented compared to other Israeli strikes on Iran, and it appears to be only the beginning of a longer effort to dismantle the Iranian military and the Iranian nuclear program.

The reactions

Multiple nations and organizations are condemning the Israeli attack, urging both parties to de-escalate the situation, as Iran has now vowed to retaliate and cancelled its participation to the nuclear deal’s talks. U.S. President Donald Trump also urged Iran to quickly make a deal about the nuclear program, as “it will only get worse” with the “next already planned attacks being even more brutal.”

President Trump also appeared to imply that he knew to some degree the Israeli plans, mentioning that the attack was conducted on the 61st day since he issued Iran a 60-day ultimatum for the nuclear deal.

The U.S. President further defined the attack against Iran as “excellent,” adding there’s “a lot more to come.”

So far, Iran has launched a minimal retaliation, with about 100 one-way attack (OWA) drones, including the infamous Shahed 136, launched against Israel.

The Israeli Air Force says many of the drones were shot down before they entered Israeli airspace, and some of them were shot down by the Royal Jordanian Air Force as they entered Jordanian airspace.

Surprisingly, as Iran has raised the red flag of revenge over the Jamkaran Mosque in the city of Qom, the Iran-backed Hezbollah group in Lebanon said it will not launch attacks on Israel in response to the strikes in Iran.

The attack

As mentioned in our previous article about the attacks, it is being reported that Israel made this move based on its assertions that Iran was close to completing the development of nuclear weapons. In fact, the nuclear enrichment facilities at Natanz were among the locations targeted during the first wave of strikes.

The emphasis should be put on first wave, as Israeli media are claiming, quoting officials, that this is only the beginning of a two-week campaign against Iran.

At the time of writing, Israel completed another wave of attacks, which also targeted Tabriz air base, home of the Iranian Air Force’s MiG-29s and F-5s.

The first wave of strikes was preceded by a significant intelligence effort. According to Israeli officials, the Mossad covertly infiltrated Iran and placed precision weapons near air defense sites and drones near surface-to-surface missile launchers, with media claiming a base was built inside Iran.

This was described to be part of three different Mossad operations in support of the attack.

In a rare instance, the Mossad released four short videos, showing operators at work with what could be a Spike ATGM and videos of the engagements. Among the targets, a ballistic missile and two surface-to-air launchers could be seen.

The drone strikes behind enemy lines immediately remind another recent case, the Ukrainian Operation Spiderweb in Russia. The attacks by the Mossad teams were synchronized with the air attacks, supplementing the airborne suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD) mission and opening a path for the strike aircraft.

In fact, the Israeli Air Force stated that one of the objectives of the first wave of attacks was to cripple the Iranian air defenses, allowing Israeli aircraft to operate over Iran with impunity.

A video released by the IAF showed what appears to be an Iranian Sevom Khordad air defense system, also known as the 3rd Khordad, being struck during the attack. Although the weapon used is not known, it could possibly be a weapon with man-in-the-loop (MITL) guidance such as the Popeye standoff air-to-surface missile, since one of the F-16s was shown taking off with the AN/ASW-55 datalink pod used to guide the Popeye.

Another video showed the attack against a mobile ballistic missile launcher, which was said to be ready to fire against Israel.

The IRGC Air Force leadership was eliminated in a single blow, as the Israeli strike hit them during a meeting. Israeli sources claim said they “tricked” them into a meeting for that to happen.

The IDF released a short animation showing the attack on the nuclear enrichment facilities. Notably, the animation included the shape of the F-35, and the involvement of the stealth fighter was previously revealed in the videos of the aircraft launching for the attacks.

The animation appears to suggest that Israel had detailed knowledge of the underground facility, similarly to the raid earlier this year against an underground Iranian missile factory in Syria targeted by a special forces raid.

As this strike package was said to have flown for 1,500 km to reach the target, a legitimate question is the amount of support needed. The KC-707s were apparently involved, with a video allegedly showing a KC-707 tanker refueling F-16s over Syria.

Israeli C-130s were also reportedly spotted at low altitude over Syria, possibly on standby for search and rescue or to insert special special forces in Iran.

The aftermath of the first wave

The first wave of attacks targeted multiple targets in the northwest of Iran.

Satellite images of the Natanz facility show damage to many of the structures on the site.

Damage was also shown at the Kermanshah Underground Facility on the Zagros Mountains, near the Iraqi border. The site is said to host a vast underground facility , operated by the IRGC Aerospace Force, which serves as a major storage and launch site for Iran’s ballistic missiles.

According to the Jerusalem Post, officials said they expected a retaliation with _hundreds of ballistic missiles,” but they were able to “prevent it.” However, they added that a larger retaliation could come in the next days.

Israeli media are claiming officials are “optimistic” about the possibility of the U.S. joining the attacks, as the heavier bunker buster bombs employed by the B-2 Spirit and the B-52 Stratofortress would be needed to destroy the Iranian underground facilities. For instance, the B-2 can employ the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP).

The list of the Iranian officials killed in the strikes included about 30 high ranking officials and nuclear scientists. Some of them have been reportedly already replaced.

Reports about restricted internet access in Iran are surfacing on social media, with claims about the government restricting the access to social media and messaging apps to prevent the spreading of imagery of the targets struck by Israel.

Attacks continue

As mentioned earlier in this article, Israeli attacks are continuing without much resistance from Iranian air defenses, although there are unconfirmed reports of Iranian fighter jets in flight. Among the targets are reported missile and drone production facilities in Tabriz and Kermanshah

Some other reported targets are Hamadan air base and Bushehr port, although they lack verification. As they situation is still unfolding, we will update this post as new details are available.

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By Stefano D'Urso
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Stefano D'Urso is a freelance journalist and contributor to TheAviationist based in Lecce, Italy. A graduate in Industral Engineering he's also studying to achieve a Master Degree in Aerospace Engineering. Electronic Warfare, Loitering Munitions and OSINT techniques applied to the world of military operations and current conflicts are among his areas of expertise.
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