Israel ’ s strike on Iran exposes cracks in the multipolar world order—and puts rising powers like China and Russia to the test. Israel's unprovoked attack on Tehran has reignited global tensions and raised questions about the future of international law and multipolarity (AP). Israel’s large-scale attack against Iran on June 13 , which it conducted without UN security council approval, has prompted retaliation from Tehran. Both sides have traded strikes over the. 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. Israel’s government is operating with a level of impunity rarely seen before. At the same time, the Trump administration is actively undermining the global institutions designed to enforce international law. Other global powers, including Russia and China, are taking this opportunity to move beyond the western rules-based system. It bears scrutinizing what Israel didn’t strike : Ayatollah Khamenei and other political leaders such as President Pezeshkian, as well as major economic targets such as Iran ’s energy. On June 13, Israel launched Operation Rising Lion , a preemptive and coordinated military strike against the Iranian regime in response to an imminent and existential nuclear threat. The campaign, conducted in coordination with the United States, targeted key Iranian nuclear and military facilities. Israel’s extraordinary military operation against Iran early Friday in the Middle East marks another major turning point for a region that has been experiencing dizzying upheaval since Hamas’s attack against Israel on October 7, 2023. In a significant escalation of hostilities, Israel’s recent strikes on Iranian military facilities signal a critical turning point in the Israeli -Iranian conflict and the wider geopolitics of the Middle East.
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