Israel began a new military campaign against Iran in June 2025 to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, which Israeli leadership regarded as an 'imminent nuclear threat' to the existence of Israel. Israeli strikes, which began on the night of June 13, 2025, as part of Operation 'Lion's Strength' (or 'Rising Lion'), targeted Iranian nuclear facilities, military infrastructure, and missile factories, as well as key military commanders and nuclear scientists.

The escalation was triggered by the activation of the Iranian nuclear program following the U.S. withdrawal from the nuclear deal in 2018, accelerated uranium enrichment to 60% purity, and the creation of modern centrifuges, which brought Iran closer to the capability of quickly producing nuclear weapons — according to intelligence, Iran could have enough materials to produce up to 15 nuclear warheads within a few days. A day before the attack, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) acknowledged that Iran was in non-compliance with its nuclear obligations.