Israel and Iran’s conflict has escalated dramatically in recent years, rooted in decades of tension since Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution overthrew the pro-Western Shah. The current crisis stems from Israel’s unprecedented June 2025 military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities and leadership targets under – marking a decisive shift from decades of shadow warfare to open confrontation.
– Iran’s Shah regime cooperated with Israel on security matters, including nuclear energy under America’s “Atoms for Peace” program. This ended abruptly when Ayatollah Khomeini declared Israel an “enemy state” after the revolution.
– Iran accelerated uranium enrichment at secret sites like Natanz while funding proxy groups (Hezbollah, Hamas) to attack Israel. Israel responded with cyberattacks and assassinations of nuclear scientists.
– Hamas’ October 2023 massacre of 1,200 Israelis and Iran’s April 2024 direct missile/drone attack on Israel crossed red lines. Israel’s September 2024 assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah escalated hostilities.
Israel launched Operation Rising Lion after determining Iran had entered the “zone of immunity” – where its underground nuclear facilities could no longer be destroyed by conventional means. The strikes eliminated Iran’s top nuclear scientists (Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani, Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi) and IRGC commander Hossein Salami. Supreme Leader Khamenei vowed retaliation, but Israel’s military chief stated they’d reached a “point of no return”.
This confrontation matters because it risks regional war between nuclear-capable powers. Unlike past proxy battles, Israel now directly targets Iran’s leadership and atomic program – betting that decisive action can eliminate existential threats before Iran crosses the nuclear threshold. With the U.S. publicly denying involvement but reportedly coordinating behind the scenes, global energy markets and Middle East stability hang in the balance.
