Analysts said the April Israeli strikes were limited and signaled a desire to de-escalate.[36] The United States, United Kingdom, France, and Jordan intercepted Iranian drones to defend Israel.[22] Syria shot down some Israeli interceptors, and Iranian proxies in the region also attacked Israel.[5][6]
On 7 October 2023,Hamas, a Palestinian militant group partially funded by Iran, launchedan attack on Israel resulting in the deaths of almost 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians, and the outbreak of theGaza war.[44] Israel alsoskirmished with Iranian proxyHezbollah in Lebanon.[45] After the attack, Israel began targeting Iranian and proxy troops in Syria more frequently as retaliation.[46] Fears of a regional war grew in the following months.[47]
On 25 December,Razi Mousavi, an Iranian commander, was killed in a targeted Israeli airstrike at his residence inSayyidah Zaynab, 10 km (6 mi) south ofDamascus, amid the Gaza war. Mousavi's assassination marked the highest-ranking killing of a senior Iranian military official since the targetedassassination of Qasem Soleimani, until the subsequent killing ofMohammad Reza Zahedi in 2024.[48][49]
On 20 January 2024, Iranian generalSadegh Omidzadeh and four other Iranian officials (Ali Aghazadeh, Saeed Karimi, Hossein Mohammadi, and Mohammad Amin Samadi)[50] were killed during a meeting at a building in theMezzeh district ofDamascus. The Israeli airstrikes, as reported by theSyrian Observatory for Human Rights, resulted in the complete destruction of the building, leading to the death of at least 10 military personnel.[51]
On 1 April, Israelbombed the Iranian embassy inDamascus, Syria. The attack killed 16 people, including multiple Iranian officers and proxy fighters. Most notably,Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a commander for theQuds Force was killed in the airstrike.[26] Iranian officials in the building were allegedly meeting with Palestinian militant leaders at the time of the attack.[52]
Iran vowed to respond, and Western sources suspected it would directly attack Israel.[53] Israel began preparing in the days leading up to the attack, evacuating Israeli embassies and jammingGPS signals in the case of an aerial bombing.[54][55] France deployed its navy to defend Israel.[2] Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates provided Israel with intelligence on the strikes.[3]
Early on 13 April, Hezbollah attacked northern Israel with around 40 rockets. Israel responded by bombing a Hezbollah weapons manufacturing site in Lebanon.[60]Al Jazeera said the attack was significant given the conflict,[61] and theInstitute for the Study of War suggested the strikes were coordinated with Iran.[7]
Later, Iran and its proxiesattacked Israel with about 300 drones and multiple ballistic missiles.[29] TheHouthis,Islamic Resistance in Iraq,Badr Organization, and True Promise Corps also launched attacks on Israel under Iranian command.[7][6] Syria shot down some Israeli interceptors.[5] The United States, United Kingdom, and Jordan intercepted over 100 Iranian drones.[1][62] The attack caused minor damage toNevatim Airbase, which remained operational.[63][64] A 7-year-oldIsraeli Bedouin child was critically injured by a missileshrapnel, and 31 other civilians suffered minor injuries while rushing to shelters or due to anxiety.[65][66][67]
Israeli and U.S. officials conducted situational assessments that night. The United States said it would not participate in a retaliatory strike on Iran. Iran threatened that if Israel were to retaliate, directly or indirectly, it would strike back harder.[68] Israel said the attack warranted a response.[69] The United States warned Israel to exercise restraint, and theIsraeli war cabinet argued over the scale of Israel's response.[70] Israel delayed plans to start anoffensive inRafah that week so it could determine a response.[71]
The war cabinet continued arguments over the Israeli response during the following week. The cabinet considered military and diplomatic options, with international pressure to de-escalate the situation influencing decisions.[72] On 18 April, it was reported that the United States would greenlight a Rafah offensive in exchange for no Israeli strike on Iran.[73] The U.S. and EU tightened sanctions on Iran.[74]
On the morning of 19 April, Israel retaliated against Iran. Israel attacked three targets in or nearIsfahan International Airport, including a military base. One of the targets was a radar for theNatanz nuclear site. Iran claimed that its air defense shot down all Israeli projectiles and that the explosions were from air defense, but satellite images showed a damaged air defense battery and damage to the radar system.[75][76] Israel did not comment or claim responsibility for any attack. In southern Syria,SAA bases were targeted, leading to material losses.[77] Explosions and fighter jets were also heard in Iraq,[30] and debris from an Israeli missile was found in central Iraq, suggesting Israel fired from there.[78]
Iranian state media downplayed the Israeli strike, and Iranian officials said there was no planned retaliation.[79] An anonymous source toldCNN that direct state-to-state strikes were over.[80] Analysts said the attack and Iranian reaction showed that both sides wanted to de-escalate.[36]
On 31 July,Fuad Shukr, a senior Hezbollah commanderwas assassinated in an Israeli strike onHaret Hreik, in the suburbs of the Lebanese capitalBeirut.[81] Iranian military adviser Milad Bedi and civilians were also killed in the strike.[82] The strike was retaliation for theMajdal Shams attack, which killed twelve children, that Israel claimed Shukr had ordered.[83]
Later that day,Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader ofHamas,was assassinated along with his personal bodyguard in the Iranian capitalTehran by an apparent Israeli attack.[32] Haniyeh was killed in his accommodation in a military-run guesthouse after attending the inauguration ceremony for Iranian presidentMasoud Pezeshkian.[84]
Heightened tensions (August–September)
After the attacks, Iran andHezbollah pledged retaliation.[85][33] According to Israeli reports, retaliatory attacks are likely to be launched by multiple members of theAxis of Resistance, including in Lebanon, Gaza, Iraq, Syria and Yemen, as similarly done in the coordinated attack on Israel in April 2024.[86] Many countries warned their citizens to leave Lebanon because of increasing war tensions.[87][88]
TheU.S. State Department has been trying to prevent an attack by working through diplomats to send the message to Iran that escalation of the conflict is not in their best interests, and that the U.S. will defend Israel from attacks. Other U.S. officials stated that the successful shoot-down in April relied on good military intelligence about what Iran was planning, but this time the military situation is more uncertain.[33] Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a message to Iran's Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei through Sergei Shoigu, the secretary of Russia's security council, to have a restrained response, and not to attack Israeli civilians.[89]
On 5 August 2024,NOTAMs were issued to warn pilots regarding the closure or restriction of the airspace of Iran and Jordan, a precaution related to a possible attack by Iran against Israel.[94][95]
Aerial view ofTehran following Israeli airstrikes, 13 June 2025.
On 31 October 2024, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei ordered his military officials to prepare for a military response against Israel, with Iranian officials warning that the response to Israel's strikes will be 'harsh' and 'unimaginable'.[105] On the same day, Israeli intelligence suggested that Iran prepared to respond to Israel's attack from withinIraqi territory. TheAxios reported that the attack would consist of a large number of drones and ballistic missiles launched from Iraqi territory.[106]
In November 2024, Israeli news outlets began reporting that Israel may target theIslamic Resistance in Iraq for its campaign against Israel during its warson Gaza andon Lebanon. Unnamed officials allegedly told outlets that satellites monitored the transfer of ballistic missiles and related equipment from Iran to Iraqi territory.[107]
On 19 November, Israel issued a letter to theUN Security Council asserting its right to self-defense against the Islamic Resistance in Iraq for its military campaign on Israel during its wars on Gaza and Lebanon. Iraqi Prime MinisterMohammed Shia al-Sudani warned that the letter served as pretext for an attack on Iraq, aligning with Israel's efforts to expand the war in the region.[108][109]
The Israeli security threat towards Iraq caused the Iraqi government to issue a statement that it would take all necessary diplomatic and military actions to protect its sovereignty. On 21 November, the Iraqi government requested an emergency session of theArab League Council through the Iraqi Permanent Mission to the Arab League to address the Israeli threats against Iraq. The request highlighted Israel's threats in its letter to the UN Security Council, where it sought to expand its aggression in the region to Iraq.[110]
On 13 June 2025, the conflict escalated into thearmed conflict between Israel and Iran, when Israel launched asurprise attack targeting key Iranian military and nuclear facilities.[34][35] The opening hours of the war sawtargeted assassinations and attempted assassinations of Iran's top military leaders, nuclear scientists,[111] and politicians (includingAli Shamkhani, who was overseeingnuclear talks with the U.S.),[112][113] airstrikes on nuclear and military facilities, and destruction of Iran's air defenses.[114] Iran retaliated by launching missiles at military sites and cities in Israel.[115][116][117][118] The United States, which had been defending Israel since the beginning of the war by shooting down Iranian missiles and drones, took offensive action on 22 June 2025, bystriking three Iranian nuclear sites.[119][120] In response, the Houthis inYemen considered the American strikes a "declaration of war" and have fired several missiles at Israel.[121][122] On 24 June, Israel and Iran agreed to aceasefire after insistence from the U.S.[123][124][125]
Notes
^First phase: 1–19 April 2024 (18 days) Second phase: 31 July – 26 October 2024 (2 months and 26 days)
^including 7 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps soldiers, 5 Iran-backed militiamen, 4 Iranian Army officers killed, 1 Iranian security guard killed, 1 Hezbollah fighter and 1 Iranian advisor
^abcde"IRAN UPDATE, APRIL 13, 2024".understandingwar.org. ISW. Retrieved26 April 2024.Members of Iran's so-called "Axis of Resistance" appear to have conducted attacks targeting Israel simultaneously with Iran's first wave of attacks. Lebanese Hezbollah claimed it fired "dozens" of Katyusha rockets targeting an Israeli missile and artillery base in the Golan Heights at 1800 ET.
^"Israel, Hezbollah exchange artillery, rocket fire".Reuters. 8 October 2023.Archived from the original on 8 October 2023. Retrieved22 March 2024.Hezbollah on Sunday said it had launched guided rockets and artillery onto three posts in the Shebaa Farms 'in solidarity' with the Palestinian people.
^"Lebanon's Hezbollah fires 'dozens of rockets' at Israeli positions".Al Jazeera. 13 April 2024.Archived from the original on 14 April 2024. Retrieved14 April 2024.the current regional context makes the Hezbollah launches significant, but the location was important as well. ... The latest Hezbollah attack comes as the world anticipates an Iranian attack on Israel...
^B. Powell, Tori; Tanno, Sophie; Tucker, Emma; Iyer, Kaanita; LeBlanc, Paul; Vogt, Adrienne; Taylor, Jerome; Legge, James (13 April 2024)."Iran launches barrage of strikes toward Israel".CNN.Archived from the original on 13 April 2024. Retrieved13 April 2024.
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