Note: This report was last updated as of 4 p.m. EDT, June 13, 2025. Things are still actively unfolding. For the latest, check live updates from the Associated Press, Times of Israel, or The Guardian.
In a sweeping and highly coordinated military and intelligence operation, Israel launched what it called a preemptive strike early Friday morning against Iran’s nuclear and missile infrastructure, following years of covert groundwork. The effort, named Operation Rising Lion, combined deep-cover Mossad activity and wide-scale Israeli Air Force (IAF) strikes, culminating in one of the most ambitious Israeli operations in history.
According to Israeli security officials cited by The Times of Israel, N12, Euronews, and Fox News, Mossad had spent years infiltrating Iranian territory. Their agents reportedly smuggled in precision-guided weapons, camouflaged advanced strike systems in vehicles, and even established a secret drone base near Tehran.
The intention, officials said, was to create the conditions for a decapitating blow to Iran’s air defense and long-range missile capabilities, executed from within Iran’s own borders.
Attached video shows Israeli Mossad personnel operating within Iran.
הכוח המבצעי של המוסד בעת פריסת מערכות התקיפה המדויקות שנועדו להשמיד את מערכות ההגנה האווירית האיראנית | תיעוד @roysharon11 pic.twitter.com/GWp1l72tFy
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) June 13, 2025
Overnight Thursday into Friday, this covert architecture was activated. According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), approximately 200 IAF aircraft launched simultaneous strikes across Iran, targeting nearly 100 installations.
These included uranium enrichment facilities, missile storage depots, and radar and surface-to-air missile (SAM) sites. The IDF said it dropped over 330 munitions, including Small Diameter Bombs and long-range Popeye missiles.
Additional footage of Iranian solid rocket fuel cooking off at the Tabriz missile base in western Iran.
The site was hit by several Israeli airstrikes today. pic.twitter.com/7KpkXTjqqu
— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) June 13, 2025
Video released by Israeli authorities shows Mossad operatives firing precision-guided Rafael Spike NLOS missiles from concealed positions, reportedly eliminating Iranian air defense launchers before jets arrived. Other footage captures loitering drones striking missile batteries.
Videos attached show two attacks, one on Iranian surface-to-surface missiles and one on air defense systems.
תקיפת מערכת ההגנה האווירית האיראנית באמצעות טילים מדויקים שהוחדרו במבצע חשאי לאיראן על ידי המוסד | תיעוד@roysharon11 pic.twitter.com/waucHGfghF
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) June 13, 2025
תקיפת טילי ומשגרי הקרקע-קרקע האיראניים באמצעות רחפי נפץ שהוחדרו על ידי המוסד במרחב טהראן | תיעוד@roysharon11 pic.twitter.com/JJX7SJUjmh
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) June 13, 2025
The Israeli Ministry of Defense confirmed the drones were launched from inside Iran, from bases covertly constructed by Mossad near Esfajabad and other locations.
A senior Israeli security official told Fox News Digital that the operation employed a “three-layered strike, involving sabotage teams disabling air defenses, explosive-laden drones destroying missile launchers, and a massive aerial bombardment by the IAF. “We eliminated vast areas of Iran’s surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missile infrastructure,” the official said.
According to Axios, Iran’s top air force officials were gathered in a bunker to coordinate a response when it was destroyed by Israeli strikes, rendering immediate Iranian retaliation impossible.
The Mossad’s ground campaign appears to have involved hundreds of agents, including Iranian nationals reportedly working under Israeli direction. According to Euronews, the operatives positioned guided missile systems near SAM sites across central Iran. Hidden explosives in vehicles and roadside installations were detonated concurrently with the aerial bombardment, knocking out defensive systems.
One core military target of the operation was Iran’s Natanz enrichment facility, located about 930 miles from Israel. Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin of the IDF described it as a multi-level underground compound used to produce nuclear material. “We inflicted significant damage on this site,” he said.
Israeli intelligence reported secondary strikes in Shiraz, Kermanshah, and Tabriz later Friday, suggesting the operation could continue. Analysts cited by Israeli outlets and Fox News Digital warned that Israel may conduct follow-up operations.
