In photos: Israel’s Operation Rising Lion targets Iran’s nuclear and military sites

Israel launched “Operation Rising Lion” to dismantle Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs. The attack on Iran involved a large-scale air operation with over 200 Israeli Air Force aircraft participating. Photo and video footage suggest it included F-15A-Ds, F-16Ds, and F-35 Lightning II stealth fighters. However, no official confirmation was given by the Israeli authorities.

These aircraft conducted long-range flights, some entering Iranian airspace, and released over 330 munitions on approximately 100 targets. It targeted Iran’s nuclear facilities, ballistic missile programs, and key military personnel, as stated by IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin in a press conference.

In a recent post on X, the IDF confirmed the deaths of key Iranian military leaders. The Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, the Commander of the IRGC, and the Commander of Iran’s Emergency Command were all eliminated in Israeli strikes involving more than 200 fighter jets across Iran.


According to a report from the TWZ, munitions supposedly included JDAM precision-guided bombs, Sparrow missiles, and Popeye cruise missiles, with specialized pods such as the Elta-8222 self-escort pod on F-15s and AN/ASW-55 datalink pods on F-16s for missile control.

The operation targeted nuclear enrichment sites like Natanz, missile production facilities, and radar defenses to degrade Iran’s ability to develop nuclear weapons and long-range delivery systems.

An F-35 fighter plane is being prepared for combat by IDF personnel. Israel is also the first country to use the F-35 in combat, launching strikes in Syria in 2018 (Image: IDF)

A pilot is boarding a stealth F-35 aircraft (Image: IDF)

An IDF personnel member in front of an Israeli fighter plane (Image: IDF)

An IAF pilot is getting prepared for combat (Image: IDF)

Line-ups of Israeli fighter aircraft before the preemptive attack (Image: IDF)

Israeli Air Force fighter jets take off to strike Iranian targets (Image: IDF)

Smoke rises up as civilians in Tehran reported damage and casualties, residential areas were hit during the strikes on Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Iranian protesters hold up Iranian and Palestinian flags in an anti-Israeli gathering in Tehran, Iran, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Firefighters and people clean up the scene of an explosion at a residence compound after Israeli attacks in Tehran, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

An Iranian protester holds up an anti-U.S. placard and a poster of the late revolutionary guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a U.S. attack in Iraq in 2020, in an anti-Israeli gathering in Tehran, Iran, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)