Battles & Wars › Modern conflicts
Twelve-Day War (Israel and the US vs. Iran)
June 13–24, 2025· War· Middle East & Africa
Well documentedSolid records, physical evidence or scientific consensus.
A June 2025 air war in which Israel, joined by the United States, struck Iran's nuclear and military sites, and Iran fired back with missiles.
See it on the Battles & Wars map →What happened
On June 13, 2025, a day after the UN nuclear watchdog's board found Iran in breach of its obligations, Israel launched Operation Rising Lion, hitting Natanz, Isfahan and missile bases and killing senior commanders and nuclear scientists. Iran fired about 550 ballistic missiles and over 1,000 drones at Israel. On June 22 US B-2s bombed Fordow and Natanz. After Iran fired at a US base in Qatar, with warning, a ceasefire held from June 24. Estimates: about 950–1,200 dead in Iran, about 30 in Israel.
Why it matters
It was the first open war between Israel and Iran and the first US strike on Iran's nuclear program, and it set up the larger 2026 war.
How we know
Israeli, US and Iranian official statements, satellite imagery, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reports, and casualty counts from Iran's government and the rights group HRANA.
Still debated
How far the strikes set back Iran's program, and where its roughly 400 kg of near-weapons-grade uranium went, are disputed. Israel calls the war preemptive; Iran calls it aggression.
Inside this (1)
Connections (5)
▸Israel–Hamas war widened into a direct Israel–Iran clash in Twelve-Day War (Israel and the US vs. Iran)Mostly agreed
The connection
After October 7, Iran's allies Hezbollah and the Houthis joined the fighting. In April 2024 an Israeli strike in Damascus killed Iranian generals, and Iran answered with its first direct attack on Israel; more exchanges followed that October. Israel's blows to Hezbollah and Assad's fall then left Iran itself exposed.
When and how
October 2023 to June 2025, across Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iran; Iran's first direct strike on Israel came April 13–14, 2024.
How sure are we?
The chain of attacks and retaliations is documented by the governments' own statements and by international reporting.
Debates and open questions
Israel cited Iran's nuclear progress as the trigger; whether it would have struck Iran anyway, without the Gaza war's regional escalation, is debated.
▸Twelve-Day War (Israel and the US vs. Iran) was fought over Iran's possible path to Nuclear weapons and deterrenceMostly agreed
The connection
Iran had enriched uranium to 60%, close to the roughly 90% used in bombs, while denying it sought a weapon. Israel, an undeclared nuclear power itself, and the US struck to stop Iran gaining a nuclear deterrent of its own. The war tested whether force can halt a nuclear program.
When and how
June 2025, a day after the IAEA's board found Iran in breach of its safeguards obligations; strikes hit Natanz, Fordow and Isfahan.
How sure are we?
IAEA reports on Iran's 60% stockpile, Israeli and US statements of their aims, and Iranian officials' later talk of reconsidering nuclear policy.
Debates and open questions
Some analysts argue the strikes may convince Iran it needs a bomb, as North Korea concluded; others say they set the program back years.
▸Twelve-Day War (Israel and the US vs. Iran) drew in the US for Operation Midnight Hammer (US strikes on Iran's nuclear sites)Well documented
The connection
Israel's jets could not destroy Fordow, buried deep under a mountain; only US B-2s carry the 30,000-pound bomb built for such targets. After nine days of Israeli strikes, President Trump ordered the attack. Iran then fired missiles at a US base in Qatar, with warning, and a ceasefire followed.
When and how
Ordered by Trump and flown overnight June 21–22, 2025; Iran's retaliation on Al Udeid Air Base came June 23, the ceasefire June 24.
How we know
White House and Pentagon statements, Iran's own statements on its retaliation, and the documented timeline of the ceasefire.
Debates and open questions
Whether Trump's earlier talk of deciding 'within two weeks' was deliberate misdirection, and how far the ceasefire was arranged in advance, are debated.
▸Iran–Iraq War began the Iranian missile program tested in Twelve-Day War (Israel and the US vs. Iran)Mostly agreed
The connection
In the 1980s Iraqi Scud missiles hit Tehran, and Iran had almost no way to strike back. It bought Scuds from Libya and North Korea, began copying them, and made missiles the core of its defense. That arsenal, later the Middle East's largest, is what Iran fired at Israel in 2025.
When and how
Iran's first missile strikes on Iraq came in 1985, during the 'War of the Cities'; Revolutionary Guards officer Hassan Tehrani Moghaddam led the program.
How sure are we?
Iranian officials openly trace the program to that war, and Western analysts such as the IISS document its line from Scuds to modern missiles.
Debates and open questions
How much help Iran still gets from North Korea, and how many missiles it has left after 2025 and 2026, are uncertain.
▸Twelve-Day War (Israel and the US vs. Iran) was followed eight months later by 2026 US–Israel war with IranWell documented
The connection
The 2025 war left key questions open: Iran's enriched uranium was unaccounted for, inspectors were largely shut out, and Iran rebuilt its missile forces. UN sanctions returned in September 2025. In February 2026, with US–Iran talks still unresolved, the US and Israel struck again on a far larger scale.
When and how
Between the June 24, 2025 ceasefire and February 28, 2026; US envoy Steve Witkoff and Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi led the diplomacy.
How we know
IAEA reports, the European 'snapback' notice at the UN, and US and Israeli statements citing Iran's rebuilding after 2025.
Debates and open questions
Whether a deal was within reach in February 2026, as Iran and some mediators claim, or the attack would have come regardless.