Dr. Yunis Gurbanov
Israel’s coordinated drone and aerial strike against Iran in the early morning hours of June 13, 2025, attributed officially by Operation Rising Lion, was a significant escalation of the decades-long covert war between the two countries.
The strikes hit over 100 locations, reports said, including Natanz and Fordow nuclear enrichment plants, various ballistic missile bunkers around Isfahan, and various Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) command and intelligence hubs. Iranian state media confirmed the deaths of at least 39 personnel, including two senior IRGC officers, Brig. Gen. Amir Reza Shahraki and Col. Hassan Hedayati, both involved in missile operations and regional proxy management.
Furthermore, the bombing caused extensive central and western Iran infrastructure destruction, disrupted vital military command and communication nodes, and triggered the instantaneous closure of uranium enrichment at major facilities. Israel’s targeting of Iran’s nuclear program marks more than a tactical escalation. It signals a calculated move away from deniable operations toward open military confrontation. From a strategic point of view, Operation Rising Lion underscored Israel’s increasing readiness to engage in escalatory risk in pursuing long-term regional deterrence.
That Israel could strike with such precision, and over such a wide area, suggests that Iranian air defenses had already been compromised. It also reveals just how far Israel’s intelligence and surveillance reach has evolved. Authoritative analyses, including those of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) and the Financial Times, have noted how this strike illustrates Israel’s transition from reactive deterrence to active disruption. The subdued and largely ineffective Iranian retaliation, chiefly through intercepted drones, illustrates an asymmetric balance: while Tehran retains proxy leverage, its direct conventional response options appear constrained.
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