Israel strikes nuclear and missile sites across Iran

[SVPete]

Israel strikes nuclear and missile sites across Iran

https://www.axios.com/2025/06/13/israel-strike-iran-trump-nuclear-talks

The Israeli Air Force conducted dozens of strikes in Iran on Thursday targeting nuclear and missile sites.

Why it matters: Israel is directly attacking its biggest and best-armed adversary, without clear backing from the U.S.

* President Trump publicly opposed an Israeli attack on Iran's nuclear sites on Thursday, saying he still believed a nuclear deal was possible.

*Hours later, Israel began targeting nuclear sites as well military headquarters, military commanders, and other Iranian officials, Israeli officials said.

Driving the news: Sirens sounded across Israel on Thursday night. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz declared a special state of emergency across the entire country.

* "Following the State of Israel's preemptive strike against Iran, a missile and drone attack against the state of Israel and its civilian population is expected in the immediate future," Katz said.

Hopefully Israel has and will continue to dish out a large enough helping of FO that Iran's Mullahcracy loses all its capability to FA.

[DefiantSix]

Apparently the IAF doesn't need the green light from Washington DC to deal with the sword the mullahs have hung over their heads for more than a generation. (Thanks EVER so much, Big Mike's Li'l Bitch...)

All they needed was the imprimatur of Sky-Six Actual...

[Zathras]

Iran has finally entered the Find Out phase.

[SVPete]

Israel launches preemptive strike on Iranian nuclear sites, military targets

https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-857575

The IDF had not stopped attacking since the initial wave. Rather, as of 4:30 a.m., the IAF was still carrying out broad attacks, and there were no specific signs of stopping.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated Iran is gearing up to produce tens of thousands of ballistic missiles, which could kill millions of Israelis even without nuclear weapons, but imagine if any of them had nuclear weapons on them.

Further, Netanyahu stated Iran may only be a few months away from being able to actually make a nuclear weapon, and not just have enough uranium.

A senior defense official on Friday morning said that there is an increasing possibility that the Iranian high command, including Iran's military chief and Iran's senior nuclear scientists, have been killed in the preemptive strike.
...
The IDF confirmed that the reason for the attack is to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
"Weapons of mass destruction in the hands of the Iranian regime are an existential threat to the State of Israel and to the wider world," the military said.

According to the IDF, Iran has enough uranium to weaponize it to nuclear levels, for 15 nuclear weapons within days.

From updates in this Hot Air post https://hotair.com/ed-morrissey/2025/06/12/breaking-israel-conducts-airstrikes-in-iran-n3803743 :

Update: The IDF may have taken out the command-and-control center for Iran's missile assets:
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Update: Rubio sent a pretty clear warning to Iran:

Embedded statement that Israel's strike was unilateral and warning Iran not to target US interests or personnel
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Update: Benjamin Netanyahu made clear that this is not a one-night operation:
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Update: Here's the statement from Netanyahu, which claims that Iran had begun to "weaponize" their enriched uranium, and that was the last straw:
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Update: If this is true, the Israeli intelligence on Iran is spooky good. And the Iranians were asleep at the switch.
Embedded claim that the head of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was taken out
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Update: Israel may have taken out the entire top of the military command:
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Update: The Times of Israel reports that their top nuclear scientists got killed as well:
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Update: They went after the ballistic missile sites too, at least those that the IDF knew about:
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Update: Even the regime media is reporting that the top commander in the IRGC is dead:
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Update: The operation is going well enough that the Israelis are beginning to talk about how that happened. The Mossad got an early start in disabling Iranian defenses and missile systems:

The Mossad carried out a series of covert sabotage operations against Iranian air defenses and missile facilities in tandem with the widespread strikes at a number of locations across Iran.

...
Update: They got (Quds Force's) Soleimani's replacement too:

Finding Out indeed!

Both Hot Air and PJMedia, https://pjmedia.com/catherinesalgado/2025/06/12/breaking-israel-bombs-iran-in-preemptive-strike-n4940748 , have posts to which they are appending news as it comes . The PJMedia post has some specifics that Hot Air did not have when I first posted this.

[SVPete]

If some Iranian higher up has a quarter of a rational brain, he'd be pointing out to the rest that Israel had wreaked and is wreaking all this destruction without using the nuclear weapons Israel does have.

One interesting aspect of this attack is that there are multiple countries between Israel and Iran or a very round-about over-water route over the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Arabian Sea. While Israel does have some air tankers and could do mid-air refueling, that long route would pretty much deprive IAF fliers of secrecy and surprise. Israel probably flew a more direct route over Syria (no longer an Iranian ally or even friend) and northern Iraq. An alternate to Syria would be Jordan, but that would take Israeli planes over central Iraq.

I'm going to WAG that Israel went over Syria, who were playing ball somewhat and whose SAM systems were at best disorganized and maybe got some cooperation from Iraq (if Iraq has SAMs in their north). IMO, the US did not know before planes took off, but I'm sure US forces in multiple places saw and had already been told as Israeli planes came near not to interfere and to keep silent.

As usual, my guesses and a tenner will get you coffee and change at Dutch Bros.

[SVPete]

Here's an 11+ minute video that gives details, faces, and locations, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyXnZ3IKlOA . The last ~3 minutes are a fund-raising appeal for some effort in Ukraine.

The guy who does the videos, "Suchomimus", is mostly focused on Ukraine, but also covered the fall of Assad in Syria. He is pretty careful to speak of confirmed events and not to exaggerate. In this video he stuck to places struck for which he had video confirmation. He speculated that IAF F-35s were used in the Iranian strikes, and the locations he places in a map of Iran are suggestive of the IAF having overflown Syria and Iraq.

[SSG Snuggle Bunny]

Do you hear that?

That the sound of the Arab states not complaining about Israel possibly transiting their airspace.

[SVPete]

The only way the IAF would not cross an Arab country is the long over-water route between Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Between the length of the route and having to do aerial refueling, the operation would have been detected, LONG before it arrived over Iran. Also, had the IAF used that route they would have flown over almost all of Iran, twice, for the attacks in northern Iran.

So, yeah, the IAF probably overflew Syria and Iraq. The Iranians had worked with Assad (or been allies) so as to supply weapons and people to Hezbollah in Lebanon, so the recently victorious rebel groups probably do not much like Iran. As for Iraq, they're working to be a PITA to the US who freed them from Saddam, but the 1980s Iran-Iraq War probably has enduring scars among Iraq's leaders and people. Consequently, Iraq probably would not mind their former enemy's military getting decapitated, flayed, and eviscerated. All that is just my guesses.

BTW, I learned last night that Israel did notify Trump in advance of their impending attack. How much in advance I have not heard, but Israel has to be careful of there possibly being LIEden-era Israel-Haters in mid-level positions in the WH.

[SVPete]

Mossad set up drone base in Iran; UAVs were activated overnight to strike surface-to-surface missile launchers aimed at Israel

https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/mossad-set-up-a-drone-base-in-iran-uavs-were-activated-overnight-to-strike-surface-to-surface-missile-launchers-aimed-at-israel/

Israel spent years preparing for the operation against Iran’s nuclear and missile programs, a security official tells The Times of Israel, including building a drone base inside Iran and smuggling precision weapons systems and commandos into the country.
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According to the official, Mossad agents set up a drone base on Iranian soil near Tehran. The drones were activated overnight, striking surface-to-surface missile launchers aimed at Israel.

In addition, vehicles carrying weapons systems were smuggled into Iran.

These systems took out Iran’s air defenses and gave Israeli planes air supremacy and freedom of action over Iran.

The third covert effort was Mossad commandos deploying precision missiles near anti-aircraft sites in central Iran.

Iran's years of proclaiming their intent to destroy Israel gave Israel years to plan and carry out at least some of what they carried out last night. Not Brilliant!!!

[SVPete]

I found that Times of Israel article in this Hot Air post, https://hotair.com/david-strom/2025/06/13/you-thought-the-pager-attack-was-amazing-israel-outdid-itself-this-time-n3803758 . From that Hot Air post:

Israel had to know exactly where to strike, when to strike simultaneously, and who was at any particular location at any given time. And they did--succeeding in taking out top IRGC leadership, key nuclear scientists, Iran's remaining air defense capabilities, and at least some of the country's drone production facilities.
...

On the strikes against IRGC Air Force leadership: Israel tricked the top command of Iran’s air force into a meeting and then kept them there, I’m told by an Israeli security official.

“We did specific activities to help us understand things about them and then used that information to make them act in a specific way,” the official said. “We knew this would make them meet, but more importantly we knew how to keep them there.”

Iran's protocols for certain kinds of urgency were consistent and predictable, and Israel worked that predictability into their timing of what was hit when.

It looks like the US was Israel's partner on the side, providing intel and providing a warning-laden smokescreen. Had Iran heeded the warning, Israel's attack would not have happened.

[FunkyZero]

"Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Azerbaijan, Qatar, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates allowed Israel to use their airspace and/or defended Israel against Iranian drone attacks last night. That also suggests Russia was likely OK with the Israeli strike and China at least knew about it."

I think the Iranians need to learn how to read the room. Pretty much anyone on the planet who matters is Ok with them getting a swift kick in the nuts

[SVPete]

Piecing together what is "known" (early reports, engaging block of salt is advised):

* Iran's military is decapitated; top generals and upper staff taken out (Quoth Trump: "They didn't die of Covid.").

* Iran's SAM system much degraded;

* Iran's bases and stocks of ballistic missiles and drones are much depleted;

* Iran's top level nuclear scientists taken out (Probably also not by Covid);

* At least one Iranian nuclear materials production facility got pounded (extent of destruction not known, but those centrifuges probably don't like shock and vibration, even if not directly damaged);

* At least one rocket fuel facility hit hard;

* Iran's initial retaliation was all of 100 missiles and drones, none of which reached Israel (i.e. shot down, not by Israel);

* The US played Iran, to the extent of saying that Trump discouraged Israel from attacking, but gave clear warnings that failing to reach agreement within the 60-day deadline would have terrible consequences.

I have seen that Israel said the attacks would continue, but have not yet seen anything about further strikes. Possible targets might include Iran's oil industry, ports, and naval bases. Oil is one of Iran's major exports (= $$$$), and those ports and bases are how Iran supplied/supplies Hamas and the Houthis and how Iran harasses and could attack Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea shipping.

[DLR Pyro]

Mossad set up drone base in Iran; UAVs were activated overnight to strike surface-to-surface missile launchers aimed at Israel

That is some world class trolling by Israel.  First exploding pagers, now setting up your attack on your enemies soil.

all of the anti-Israel protestors need to take note not to **** with Israel

[SVPete]

Iran fired off another batch of missiles (150?), flooding Israel's missile defense and achieving some hits, https://hotair.com/ed-morrissey/2025/06/13/new-iranian-retaliatory-strike-hits-tel-aviv-n3803776 . Iran is just targeting civilian populations. Maybe their missiles are not accurate enough to target military installations and Iran is just firing in the general direction of large-ish cities. This attacking of Israeli citizens may bring FO consequences to Iran's oil industry.