Israel strikes Iranian facilities with Gulf enterring new phase of risk escalation

Israel opened “Operation Rising Lion” before dawn on 13 June 2025, striking dozens of Iranian nuclear and missile sites in what it said was a pre-emptive move to stop Tehran from building an atomic bomb.

According to the Israel Defense Forces, the opening wave hit air-defence batteries in western Iran as well as facilities linked to ballistic-missile production and uranium enrichment.

Iran replied by launching about 100 attack-drones toward Israeli territory, while local media reported explosions around the country’s main enrichment plant at Natanz.

This development could trigger reignited concern over a wider conflict that could spill into the Strait of Hormuz and adjoining sea lanes that carry a fifth of the world’s traded oil and a tenth of its LNG.