With the deployment of 200 combat aircraft and over 330 guided munitions, the Israeli Air Force carried out one of the most forceful air operations in its recent history, as part of Operation “Rising Lion”. The mission aimed to severely degrade Iran’s nuclear program and the military capabilities associated with its development. The attacks targeted around one hundred strategic sites on Iranian territory, many of them located in underground facilities in the western and central parts of the country.
One of the main targets was the underground complex of Natanz, the core of Iran’s uranium enrichment program. According to official information from the Israeli Defense Forces, the strikes damaged facilities housing centrifuges, electrical rooms, and other critical infrastructure used for uranium enrichment, which was reportedly reaching weapons-grade levels. The Israeli Defense Forces also struck surface-to-surface missile depots and launch platforms, as well as command and control centers tied to the development of ballistic missiles.
According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iran currently possesses 400 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60%, a threshold close to that required to manufacture atomic weapons. This revelation is believed to have been the final trigger for the Israeli military action, driven by the conviction that the Persian regime is about to cross the “point of no return” in its nuclear pursuit.
Among the participating assets were F-15C fighter jets armed with JDAM GBU-31(V)1/B guided bombs, AIM-7M Sparrow air-to-air missiles, Python-4/5 missiles (intended for the destruction of Iranian drones), along with ELL-8222 electronic warfare pods. Also involved were fifth-generation F-35I “Adir” jets, whose stealth capability is believed to have allowed them to penetrate enemy airspace undetected, and F-16I “Sufa” jets belonging to the 107th Squadron “Kings of the Orange Tail,” armed with GBU-39 small diameter bombs (SDB) and Python and Sidewinder missiles for interception tasks, supplemented by Rampage missiles. As of now, air coverage operations continue in Israel, with notable participation of Boeing 707 tanker aircraft, which have been observed conducting in-flight refueling operations for F-16I fighters.
In this operation, intelligence elements played a key role at the moment of the strikes. An underground command center of the Aerospace Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was located and accurately attacked while the leadership of the IRGC’s air wing was gathered there in preparation for an alleged attack against Israel.
This offensive maneuver resulted in the elimination of Commander Amir Ali Hajizadeh, as well as other high-ranking figures such as UAV force chief Taher-pour, air command head Davoud Shaykhian, Chief of the General Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces Mohammad Hossein Bagheri, and IRGC General Commander Hossein Salami, according to official Israeli government sources.
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