Israel launched a combined attack on Tehran’s military and nuclear facilities, using more than 200 F-15/F-16/F-35 fighter jets and missile units to attack many targets inside Iranian territory.
Early this morning, June 13, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched Operation Rising Lion, a combined attack on Iran’s
military and nuclear facilities, using more than 200 F-15/F-16/F-35 fighter jets and missile units to attack multiple targets inside Iran. According to Israeli press agencies, 330 different types of ammunition were fired.
What targets were attacked?
In the first wave of attacks, Israeli aircraft attacked western Iran, where important air defense radar stations were located. Several stations were destroyed, including radars in Subashi, Maragheh and Tabriz. An air defense site in Hamadan, which housed tactical aircraft, was also hit.
Following several missile and bomb attacks, the Israeli army struck military targets in provinces bordering Iraq and Azerbaijan.
After clearing the airspace, Israel launched long-range missiles and bombs, including bunker-busters, in the direction of the capital Tehran. The main attack fell on Tehran and its surrounding areas. More than a dozen neighborhoods were hit, especially the eastern neighborhoods where the General Staff and the headquarters of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) are located.
Israeli units killed at least six nuclear scientists in their homes, and also attacked the headquarters of the Iranian Armed Forces and the IRGC. As a result, the deaths of the Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Mohammad Bagheri, the commander of the Iranian IRGC Hossein Salami and the commander of “Hatem al-Anbiya” (Emergency Command) Hatem-Ghulam Ali Rashid were confirmed.
In doing so, the IDF disorganized the Iranian military’s command structure, giving them a short-term advantage in attacking nuclear facilities. Using bunker-busting munitions, facilities at Natanz, Fordow, and Parchin were attacked.
The scale of the damage is yet to be assessed as rubble is being cleared in Tehran and the death toll could be higher.
The fate of Ali Shamkhani, an adviser to Supreme Leader Khamenei, remains unclear, with some media outlets reporting he is dead and others saying he is seriously injured. Another Israeli target was the head of the IRGC aerospace force, Ali Hajizadeh.
tricky attack
The operation itself followed a procedural pattern. First, the Israelis cleared the airspace by attacking early warning radar systems, then disrupted the control system and attacked the nuclear facilities.
The toll from this attack exceeded previous offensive campaigns, as the Iranians had never lost so many military leaders at once. However, the Islamic Republic government responded promptly, appointing temporary replacements to top positions in the armed forces and the IRGC.
Currently, the Iranian command has announced a retaliatory operation called “True Promise – 3”. At the same time, politicians are making appeals and threats to Israel, but so far only Shahed-136 drones have been launched, which are being shot down by coalition aircraft.
