6.13.25
“Israel’s Response Against Iran”
From Donna Garner
[COMMENTS FROM DONNA GARNER: In this article, I have utilized excerpts from three valid sources.]
SOURCE #1
6.13.25 – “What We Know So Far About Israel’s Strikes on Iran” -- By Ryan Morgan, Joseph Lord – Epoch Times
Excerpts from this article:
Israeli warplanes began carrying out airstrikes across Iran in the early morning hours on June 13 [2025] in what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cast as a critical measure to protect his nation.
“Moments ago, Israel launched Operation Rising Lion -- a targeted military operation to roll back the Iranian threat to Israel’s very survival,” Netanyahu said in a televised address shortly after reports emerged of the initial barrage.
In his address, Netanyahu said that Iran had stockpiled enough highly enriched uranium to result in nine nuclear warheads, and that Iran could produce its first warhead in just a few months.
Netanyahu vowed the Israeli strike operations would continue “for as many days as it takes to remove this threat.”
The full extent of the damage cannot be independently verified at this time, but the Israeli military said it has relied on high-quality intelligence to precisely target aspects of Iran’s nuclear program.
In his video address, Netanyahu said the strikes targeted the leading Iranian nuclear enrichment facility at Natanz, and an individual he described as Iran’s leading scientist working on nuclear weapons.
The International Atomic Energy Agency has confirmed Natanz was among the sites targeted.
“We also struck at the heart of Iran’s ballistic missile program,” Netanyahu said in his televised address.
Iranian state TV also confirmed Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami, the head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was killed in an Israeli strike in Tehran, the Iranian capital.
ISRAEL BRACES FOR RETALIATION
As Israeli warplanes launched their offensive operations on Iran, the Israeli military began advising its citizens to take shelter in anticipation of an Iranian retaliation.
“Civilians of Israel, I can’t promise absolute success—the Iranian regime will attempt to attack us in response. The expected toll will be different to what we are used to,” Israeli Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said.
Iran launched a barrage of missiles at Israel in October [2024] in retaliation for an Israeli airstrike that killed Iranian Gen. Abbas Nilforoushan and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon, and for an assassination operation that killed Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran…
US DENIES INVOLVEMENT
“Tonight, Israel took unilateral action against Iran. We are not involved in strikes against Iran and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said shortly after the attack began.
While Rubio denied U.S. involvement in the military operation, he said Israeli officials informed the U.S. government that they believed the attack was necessary for their national self-defense.
WHAT DID U.S. KNOW?
It’s not clear exactly how much the U.S. government knew about the Israeli operation before it began.
On June 11 [2025], the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad began reducing its staff.
On June 12, just hours before Operation Rising Lion began, the embassy in Iraq further cautioned U.S. citizens against travel to the country, while the embassy in Israel ordered staff to leave the areas of Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and Be'er Sheva until further notice.
President Donald Trump faced questions about whether an Israeli attack was imminent during a bill-signing ceremony on June 12 [2025].
“I don’t want to say imminent, but it looks like it’s something that could very well happen,” the president replied.
Following the Israeli attack, Rubio said the Trump administration had taken further steps to protect U.S. forces in the region and remains in contact with regional partners.
“Let me be clear: Iran should not target U.S. interests or personnel,” Rubio added.
SOURCE #2
“6.13.25 – “Israel Successful in Surprise Attack on Iran” -- C&C News – Jeff Childers – Excerpts from this article: https://www.coffeeandcovid.com/p/prematurely-friday-june-13-2025-c?utm_campaign=email-half-post&r=3uxvo&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
As far as anyone can tell, [yesterday] Israel erased Iran’s entire military chain of command, and made it look easy.
Not only that, but Israel attacked military bases and nuclear sites all across Iran, in multiple waves.
In other words, 200 Israeli aircraft struck over 100 targets across a nation the size of Alaska, supposedly defended by one of the largest and most layered air defense systems in the Middle East.
IRAN’S SECURITY APPEARS TO HAVE FAILED
Inexplicably, Iran’s air defenses stayed silent.
Not a single Israeli fighter jet was damaged.
In response, Iran only managed to launch around 100 drones —a lazy half hour’s action in Ukraine— to no apparent effect.
These drones, all downed long before they neared Israel, could easily have been an automatic response, suggesting a total lack of any meaningful military response by Iran.
The only explanation that makes sense for Israel to enjoy clear skies over the entire country is that someone inside Iran somehow pulled the plug on all the country’s air defenses right before the attack [Israel’s super, undercover spies?].
If so, it was another catastrophic security failure by Israel’s enemies…
WHICH COUNTRIES MAY HAVE HELPED ISRAEL?
Peel off each layer of the strike to reveal another astonishing fact.
For example, to get to Iran, the Israelis must have been aided by the Jordanians and allowed to use Saudi Arabian airspace.
There’s no way Israel’s 200 jets crossed half of the Middle East without at least tacit approval from its neighbors.
That means a whole lot of folks were involved— but Iran obviously had no idea it was coming.
Jordan probably even helped Israel by shooting down Iranian drones.
A short, blurry statement from the Jordanians said “it had intercepted a number of missiles and drones that … were likely to fall in Jordanian territory, including populated areas … but did not specify where the drones and missiles came from.”
Duh…Obviously, they came from Iran.
…For the last 48 hours, social media buzzed with warning signs.
The US closed its embassy in Iraq and withdrew personnel, as did other Middle Eastern countries. The air spaces were closed. Telegram hummed with predictions of an imminent Israeli attack.
IRANIAN GENERALS AND NUCLEAR SCIENTISTS KILLED IN THEIR BEDS -- NOT IN THEIR BUNKERS
Yet many of Iran’s generals and nuclear scientists were killed by targeted strikes while sleeping in their apartments— in their bedrooms and not in their bunkers…
That’s beyond reckless.
The reason you have a military is to prepare for attacks just like this one…
The Trump Administration said it was aware of the attacks, but the U.S. did not participate.
Early this morning [6.12.25], the President posted on Truth Social, begging the Iranians to return to the negotiating table, reminding them that he’d tried to warn them, and warning even more was coming.
What Trump meant by “next already planned attacks” was unclear, but this decapitation strike could easily be the preparatory phase of a much larger operation to permanently disable Iran’s nuclear capability.
Israel probably will not get another chance to operate like this without Iran’s air defenses…
Al Jazeera reported this morning that Israeli civilians and Iranians are engaged in panic buying, snatching up supplies to prepare for a longer conflict.
…We peer dimly through the fog of war, unable to ascertain what comes next, and we pray that cooler heads will prevail.
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SOURCE #3
6.12.25 – “Amir Tsarfati – of “Behold Israel” -- https://mailchi.mp/beholdisrael/newsletter22025-11467104?e=787d7aa529
Yesterday Amir Tsarfati sent this out to his subscribers. Amir (a Jew who is a Christian) and his family live right there in Israel, and his own sons are in the military:
Excerpts from this article:
ISRAELI NAVY LAUNCHING ATTACKS FROM SHIPS
Up until now, punching Yemen [the country from which the Houthi’s have been launching their attacks] in the face had always been the responsibility of the Israeli Air Force [IAF].
On June 10, in a first time move, the IAF let the Israeli Navy in on the action.
Two of the latest generation frigates entered the Red Sea shipping lanes running undercover.
Once in position, they launched precision guided missiles that hit Hodeida port destroying much of the repair work that the Yemenites had so diligently been working at since the last time Israel blew it apart.
This was certainly payback against the Houthis for their continued firing of missiles into Israel, nearly all of which have been shot down.
ISRAELI NAVY NOW ABLE TO STRIKE DEEP INTO IRAN
…Strikes by the IAF are difficult, because of the long distance. It is very expensive and the planes need refueling along the way.
But now the navy has shown that they can simply sail up into the Red Sea and launch missiles that can not only hit Yemen, but that can strike deep into Iran.
If one were to read the subtext, it would say, “When we come to level your nuclear sites, we won’t just be doing it from the air.”
…
Trump gave Iran two months to make a decision about his proposal for a nuclear deal. That time period ends today.
But Iran had already made a decision.
In their [Iran’s] minds it was going to go one of three ways.
(1) Either Trump would cave and sign onto a weak Obama-esque deal;
(2) Iran would delay long enough for Trump to fall off the scene through one means or another; or
(3) All parties would go to war.
As of now, it looks like the third option is most likely.
TEHRAN’S REAL INTENT TO GAIN NUCLEAR WEAPONS
Despite their protests, Tehran was never about a peaceful nuclear energy program. That’s always been a scam.
They are radical Muslim jihadists who are anxious to act on their ideology and their threats.
There are three pillars to the Islamic nuclear threat – (1) uranium enrichment, (2) development of warheads, and (3) an advanced ballistic missile program.
They are currently working on all three.
IRAN’S REFUSAL TO COOPERATE WITH NUCLEAR INSPECTORS
The International Atomic Energy Agency [IAEA – supposed to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons by inspections] has finally admitted to Iran’s end game.
For the first time in 20 years, they have made a dramatic statement against Iran, saying, “By failing to cooperate with the inspectors of its nuclear program, Iran is violating its obligations.”
…Meanwhile, Europe is watching saying, “Mr. Ayatollah, can we maybe not build a bomb, you know, if that’s okay with you?”
U.S. IS WATCHING
Trump, however, is watching the secondhand tick down on his timeline, and Israel is gassing up its jets.
For their part, the Islamist regime is threatening U.S. interests in the region.
In return, Washington is evacuating the embassy in Baghdad, Iraq.
It is also clearing out non-essential personnel from Bahrain and Kuwait and putting all American tankers in the Persian Gulf on alert.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said yesterday that Iran is determined to go ahead with their nuclear program, so that seems to indicate that America is ready to green light Israel.
This will be a tough operation. Much of the nuclear production is taking place far underground, and it will take several rounds of bunker busting bombs to destroy them…
TO SUBSCRIBE TO AMIR TSARFATI’S “TELEGRAM CHANNEL” – where you can find daily updates from Amir related to current events in the Middle East and what’s taking place around the world: https://beholdisrael.org/the-latest-from-amir/