Where Israel Attacked Iran
Posted on June 15, 2025 by
| Israel launched multiple waves of air strikes across Iran on June 13 that targeted the Islamist power’s nuclear program, key military sites, and some residential areas. |
| The strikes killed several of Iran’s top military commanders as well as nuclear scientists, and were aimed at preventing Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, according to Israeli leadership. |
| In a Friday night speech, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Iran’s pursuit of a nuclear weapon presented “a clear and present danger to Israel’s very survival.” |
| Tehran denies it is seeking a nuclear weapon, and Amir Saeid, Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, said on Friday that the 78 killed and 320 injured were primarily civilians. |
| The Israeli operation, named “Rising Lion” by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), aimed to decapitate Iran’s nuclear program as well as to eliminate the threat posed by related military capabilities such as its more advanced ballistic missiles. |
| While the total extent of Israel’s assault remains unclear, there are now several key targets that have been independently confirmed to have been struck in the attack. Here is a list of the major targets. |
| Natanz Nuclear Facility Natanz is the cornerstone of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure and serves as the nation’s central facility for enriching uranium. |
| The Natanz Enrichment Complex is itself located deep below ground and behind reinforced concrete walls designed to protect the facility from missile attacks. |
| The facility serves to enrich uranium to the highest levels that Iran is known to possess, around 60 percent, which is a short technical step away from reaching 90 percent purity, the level required for building a nuclear weapon. |
| Iran has roughly 605 pounds of uranium enriched up to a 60 percent threshold, according to a report by the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency. That is enough to build about half a dozen nuclear weapons. |
| The facilities at Natanz also conduct research and development related to the development of advanced centrifuges, and, as such, any changes to Natanz’s operations would likely have a direct impact on the amount of time required for Tehran to produce a nuclear weapon. |
| Friday’s IDF strikes destroyed the above-ground pilot enrichment plant at Natanz, according to a statement by the chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency, although the condition of underground facilities there remains uncertain. Tehran Israeli forces targeted several sites throughout the Iranian capital of Tehran, according to the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank. |
| Confirmed strikes occurred at a local air defense base, a major tower that contains both commercial and residential properties, and the neighborhoods of Azgol and Farmanieh in Tehran. |
| It was during these strikes that several members of the Iranian armed forces, as well as some nuclear scientists, were believed to have been killed. |
| Among the confirmed dead on the Iranian side were multiple generals and other top officers who served on the Iranian military’s general staff, oversaw various headquarters, and led the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its aerospace wing. Tabriz Airbase Co‑located with a civilian international airport and flanked by several hardened missile silos, the Tabriz Airbase is a strategically vital node for the Iranian Air Force. |
| The base houses several helicopter and jet fighter units and, owing to its adjacent missile bases, is considered a key source of Iran’s ability to project power west of the nation, including against Israel. |
| To that end, the nearby missile silos, operated by the IRGC Aerospace Force, hold all known variants of the Shahab missile, a family of short and medium-range ballistic missiles based on North Korean designs. |
| In a statement on social media, the IDF said that it had destroyed or dismantled several of the Iranian Air Force’s facilities, including those in Tabriz and Hamadan. |
| The IDF said that the strikes also targeted a nearby “aerial defense array, UAVs, and surface-to-surface missile launchers.” Hamadan Airbase Hamadan Airbase houses the Iranian Air Force’s F-4 and F-7 fighter squadrons. The facility has also hosted international air elements in recent years, including Russian bombers that used the base as a launching point for operations in Syria. |
| The airbase also maintained missile storage facilities, underground hangars, and several surface-to-air missile launchers, according to the IDF statement. |
| Israeli forces also struck the nearby Subashi radar facility, Iran’s westernmost air-defense facility. |
| The Sobashi radar station was initially established half a century ago under a U.S.-backed military assistance program, and remained a critical node in Iran’s air defense architecture, offering persistent, long-range surveillance of the nation’s neighbors to the west. Piranshahr Military Base Piranshahr lies near the Iran–Iraq border, and serves as a hub for elements of both the Iranian Army and the IRGC. |
| The base and affiliated garrisons in the West Azerbaijan Province primarily serve in regional security and border control functions, but also have indirect roles in Iran’s broader strategy toward Israel. |
| The IRGC’s Quds Force, which specializes in unconventional warfare, has previously operated out of the base, trafficking equipment and personnel to Iranian-backed proxy groups throughout the region, including those in Syria and Lebanon. Kermanshah Underground Facility The underground base was a key node in Iran’s missile infrastructure, located across dozens of small facilities interlinked by extensive tunnel works and bunkers. |
| The facilities were used to house short and medium‑range ballistic missiles like the Shahab variants, but also included more advanced missiles like the Emad and Qadr systems. |
| The facilities also included an IRGC-run munitions depot and a nearby fuel depot for the Iranian Air Force. |
| Some bunkers may have hosted mobile launcher platforms for Iran’s Missile Shower System, an automated missile launcher designed to enable a rapid barrage of medium-range ballistic missiles. Author- Andrew Thornebrooke Epoch Times |