In June 2025, Israel launched a significant and highly coordinated military campaign targeting Iran’s strategic military infrastructure. This operation, named “Operation Rising Lion,” involved approximately 200 aircraft conducting airstrikes over three days, striking nearly 100 sites across Iran. Prior to the main assault, Israeli intelligence agency Mossad initiated covert drone attacks inside Iran to disable key radar systems and air-defense networks, paving the way for successful aerial operations.
The airstrikes primarily focused on neutralizing Iran’s long-range air-defense systems, including Russian-made S-300 and S-400 batteries, which formed the backbone of its protective network. Additionally, the strikes targeted crucial missile production sites at Parchin and Khojir, destroying planetary mixers essential for manufacturing solid-fuel ballistic missiles. These components are highly specialized and difficult to replace, making their loss a major setback to Iran’s missile production capabilities.
Israel also hit command centers, nuclear facilities, and communication infrastructure, including the Natanz enrichment site and leadership posts of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The strikes severely impaired Iran’s ability to coordinate a military response and disrupted its defense readiness.
Despite this extensive damage, Iran still retains a substantial arsenal of ballistic missiles, including the advanced Sejjil and Fattah-1 hypersonic missiles. While its production capability has been degraded, the operational threat from existing stockpiles remains.
The nature of this conflict marks a shift in regional warfare. Israel’s use of combined drone and air power within Iran’s territory, rather than relying on proxy conflicts, signals a more direct and aggressive approach to confronting threats. This operation not only highlighted the effectiveness of Israel’s military intelligence and precision targeting but also exposed vulnerabilities in Iran’s defensive posture. Moving forward, Iran may face significant delays in replenishing its missile forces and rebuilding its air-defense systems, altering the strategic balance in the Middle Ea