What to know about situation around Iran

On the night of June 13, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) launched a large-scale operation called “Rising Lion”. Reports of explosions in Tehran surfaced shortly after.

As part of the operation, the Israeli Air Force targets military sites and facilities of Iran’s nuclear program. For strikes on Iran, Israel involved 200 aircraft. Israeli authorities said that the operation is aimed at preventing a threat to the existence of the Jewish state, as, according to Israeli intelligence, Tehran has approached the “point of no return” in its nuclear weapons development within a short time.

The Israeli Air Force has conducted multiple waves of attacks across Iran, including in Tehran. Iranian media reports indicate that several high-ranking military officers and nuclear scientists have been eliminated. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) officially confirmed the death of its commander Hossein Salami. The strikes also hit the Natanz nuclear facility, the location of the Iranian military in the northwest of the country. The IDF said Iran launched more than a hundred drones into Israel in response to the strikes.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called Israel’s strikes on Iran a crime and warned that Israel faces a “bitter and painful fate.”

Before launching the operation, the Israeli authorities declared a state of emergency, closed the airspace, activated special hospital protocols and urged citizens to follow civil defense instructions.

US President Donald Trump convened a cabinet-level meeting amid Israel’s attacks on Iran. The US says it was not involved and did not provide assistance to Israel.