The Israeli attack on Iran 's nuclear program and military assets and Iran 's responding missile strikes represent a significant escalation in the long-standing tensions between the two nations. RAND experts provide insights into the strategic, diplomatic, and economic dimensions of this unfolding crisis. Tensions between two Middle Eastern heavyweights have erupted into a full-fledged Israel ‑ Iran war 2025. What’s happening now? In the latest twist, Israel ’s Operation Rising Lion unleashed a devastating wave of airstrikes on Iran ’s military and nuclear infrastructure—including the hardened Natanz enrichment complex—on June 13, 2025. MENASource June 16, 2025 Twenty questions (and expert answers) on the Israel - Iran war By Atlantic Council experts A decades-old conflict between Israel and Iran that was never quite “cold” is rapidly heating up. In the days since the first Israeli attacks against the Iranian nuclear program and military leadership, more than two hundred people have been killed in Iran and at least two. 3 days ago · Iran ’s militias — from Hezbollah in Lebanon, already degraded after losing its own conflict with Israel last year, to the Iraqi militias under the control of Iran ’s Islamic Revolutionary. Israel ’ s military campaign against Iran, detailed through Operation Am Kalbi , reveals significant intelligence successes and ongoing threats, as explained by former NSC head Giora Eiland. The conflict’s outcome hinges on precise military operations and the potential for decisive U.S. Since 1985, Iran and Israel have been engaged in a proxy conflict that has greatly affected the geopolitics of the Middle East. In 2025, hostility between Israel and Iran escalated into an armed military conflict . Israel carried out strikes against Iranian nuclear and military targets the day after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) declared that Iran had violated its obligations. After 12 days of direct conflict marked by air strikes and missile attacks, Israel and Iran have agreed to a cease-fire. Both sides claim success, but experts say Iran ’s nuclear program remains.
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