On Friday, Israel attacked Iran and since then the two countries have been engaged in the most violent conflict in their history.
Attacks on 100 targets inside Iran (mainly nuclear facilities and camps) have so far killed at least 224 people, including senior officers of the Iranian army, the Revolutionary Guards and Iranian nuclear scientists.
Iran has responded immediately with missile attacks which have so far killed at least 24 and injured 390+ people (90% civilians according to Iran).
(fyiteam)Israeli Prime Minister B. Netanyahu said that he will continue attacking for “as long as necessary”.
To justify himself, he said he attacked Iran to prevent the construction of a nuclear bomb, and claimed that Tehran is already capable of building 9 such bombs.
His opponents say he did it to prevent a possible Iran-US nuclear deal, while others say it was a move of political survival as his government is under the spotlight (internationally and domestically) for its crimes in Gaza.
(fyiteam)Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that Israel “opened the gates of hell” and vowed “severe punishment”.
The latest round of Iran-US nuclear talks, scheduled for Sunday, was cancelled and Tehran said it was freezing any talks or negotiations as long as it was targeted by Israeli attacks.
Until 1979, the two countries enjoyed friendly relations, with Iran being one of the first countries to recognize Israel in 1950.
However, after the Islamic Revolution, Iran began viewing the US as the “Great Satan” and Israel as the “Little Satan,” leading to a complete severance of ties between them.
Israel sees the hatred of Iran as stemming from the Tehran regime’s ambition to spread ideological revolution and Islamic ideology throughout the Middle East.
The rivalry became worse when Iran started funding armed organizations such as the Shiite Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Sunni Hamas in Gaza.
No.
The conflict between Iran and Israel primarily manifests through proxy warfare.
However, over the years, there have been attacks within and beyond each state’s borders, with neither side officially acknowledging responsibility.
This tactic is commonly called “shadow warfare,” with episodes becoming known based on severity.
At the heart of this covert conflict lies Iran’s nuclear program.
There have also been numerous instances of sabotage attacks targeting Iran’s nuclear and military facilities, which Tehran has attributed to Israel.
Israel and the US are believed to be behind the Stuxnet malware, which caused extensive damage to Iran’s nuclear facilities in the 2000s and the assassination of a top Iranian nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, in 2020.
The two most serious incidents occurred in 2024, when Iran launched hundreds of drones and missiles against Israel in response to Israeli attacks in Syria, Gaza and Lebanon.
Israel, widely believed to possess secret nuclear weapons itself, has pledged never to allow Iran to acquire a nuclear bomb.
Israel claims that Iran possesses an amount of enriched uranium sufficient to develop nuclear bombs within a matter of weeks potentially.
Tehran has repeatedly asserted that its nuclear program is intended solely for peaceful purposes and not for military use.
Iran signed an agreement in 2015 with world powers (permanent members of the UN AND EU) that effectively prevented Tehran from developing nuclear weapons.
The agreement was terminated when then-US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from it in 2018, allowing Iran to continue its nuclear program unchecked.
Iran’s primary nuclear facilities are situated deep underground, nestled beneath mountains for enhanced protection.
(fyiteam)US minister of foreign affairs, M. Rubio said early Friday that the US had nothing to do with the Israeli attacks, but shortly afterwards, President D. Trump told reporters that he knew about them.
Trump said he had been working lately to reach an Iran-US nuclear deal and was the one who prevented Israel from assassinating Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
