Operation Rising Lion, also called Operation Nation of Lions, was a series of airstrikes carried out by Israel against sites and personnel linked to the Iranian nuclear program in June 2025.
On 12 June 2025, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) found Iran to have breached its non-proliferation obligations for the first time in 20 years, as Iran had built a stockpile of enriched uranium that could be used to make reactor fuel and nuclear weapons. That same day, American president Donald Trump warned that a "massive conflict" could break out in the Middle East over the issue of Iran's nuclear program, saying that, while he had held Israel back from attacking Iran's nuclear processing facilities, the United States would consider military strikes if US-Iran nuclear talks failed to curb Iran's ability to enrich uranium.
Early on the morning of 13 June 2025, the Israeli Air Force launched a series of preemptive strikes against Iran's nuclear program and other military targets. Dozens of strikes were carried out across the country, targeting long-range missiles and nuclear sites such as Natanz. Mossad sabotaged Iran's air defense systems and missile infrastructure ahead of the attack. Explosions rocked military bases and in neighborhoods housing senior commanders; the IRGC headquarters was also struck. The IDF claimed to have killed Iranian chief of staff Mohammad Bagheri, IRGC commander Hossein Salami, senior commander Gholam Ali Rashid, and nuclear scientists Fereydoon Abbasi and Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi, while Ali Khamenei's advisor Ali Shamkhani was critically wounded and later died from his injuries. New waves of strikes would occur in the afternoon as Israel bombed the Tabriz Airport, Shiraz, and the Natanz nuclear site. On 14 June, the Israelis launched a new wave of attacks against Tehran and gas fields, and 15 June saw Israel strike the Ministry of Justice in Tehran, military bases in Shiraz, and the Iranian foreign ministry.
Defense Minister Israel Katz declared a state of emergency ahead of expected Iranian retaliation, with US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff warning the US Congress that Iran could retaliate with a mass-casualty attack. Iran's initial response was to launch more than 100 Shahed drones at Israel, but the Royal Jordanian Air Force and Israeli Air Force shot them down, enabling the lifting of the shelter-in-place order in Israel.