By June 15, Israel had built an unobstructed air corridor to the central part of Iran for bombing its military-industrial and nuclear infrastructure. This was stated by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on the third day of its full-scale operation “People like a Lion”, which became a historic stage in the confrontation between the two regional opponents. The Prime Minister of the Jewish state, Benjamin Netanyahu, issued a statement saying that the goal of the military campaign is to completely dismantle not only Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, but also its ballistic missile program. Such plans promise a protracted war.
The third day of the Israeli operation People like a Lion, launched against Iran, was marked by the creation of a full-fledged air corridor to the center of the Islamic Republic. This follows from a statement by IDF spokesman Efi Defrin on June 15. “The Israeli Air Force strikes are based on pre–planned operational plans and are aimed at hitting nuclear facilities and the Iranian regime’s ability to produce nuclear weapons,” he said at a briefing. “We have attacked research and development bureaus used for the production of raw materials and laboratories for the development of nuclear weapons.” Separately, Defrin’s statement refers to the destruction of Iranian missile infrastructure facilities.
Despite the fact that, starting its operation on June 13, Israel explained its necessity by destroying Iranian nuclear developments, Netanyahu subsequently expanded the list of official targets. “There is a huge threat of ballistic missiles,” he said in his latest statement. – Imagine that Iran will have 20,000 such missiles. This is their plan. They consider it an additional component along with nuclear weapons to destroy Israel. We cannot allow them to build facilities for the production of 20,000 missiles. That’s why we launched an operation to destroy these facilities – that’s what the IDF is doing right now.” Separately, he promised that the Israeli army would maneuver freely in the skies over Tehran.
On the third day of the full-scale clash, Iran and Israel continued to exchange sophisticated combined strikes. The Jewish State has gone beyond weapons and nuclear targets by launching attacks on Iran’s critical energy infrastructure, including in the area of gas and oil facilities. For example, IDF combat drones were deployed against the South Pars gas field in Bushehr province, which is an important part of the Iranian energy industry. Despite the fact that the emergency services managed to contain the fire that occurred there, the Israeli bombing led to the shutdown of production lines at local production sites.
In a few days of Israeli attacks, work was halted at several critical Iranian nuclear facilities, which the United States and Israel believe were links in a program to develop weapons of mass destruction. According to a number of Western publications, the unhindered operation of Israeli aviation in the skies over the Islamic Republic became possible thanks to the sabotage attacks of the MOSSAD. Long before the start of Operation People like a Lion, the Israeli intelligence agency was able to create a base of combat drones in Iran, install high-precision automatic weapons launched remotely in the right places, and organize cells of its agents of Iranian origin.
It was the MOSSAD that was responsible for disabling a significant part of Iran’s air defense systems. Separately, air defense systems were hit by Israeli aircraft. However, Iran still has working protective equipment at its disposal. They are concentrated in the eastern part of the country and can be moved to the capital region, as well as to the western border if necessary, Israeli military officials admit.
The Iranian authorities say they will continue to defend themselves and hit Israel as long as it continues its aggression. The struggle is for control of the air corridors along the perimeter. Thus, Iranian President Masoud Peseshkian, during a telephone conversation with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani, called on Baghdad to take measures to oust the Israelis from the Iraqi sky. “The government of Iraq must show great responsibility and ensure the protection of its borders and airspace so that the Iraqi territory is not used against the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the head of the Iranian government said.
In the Mejlis (legislative body) As a response to the escalation, Iran is discussing the country’s withdrawal from the Treaty on the Non–Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), as well as the forced blocking of the Strait of Hormuz, a strategically important sea route that connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman. In addition, on June 15, the Iranian Foreign Ministry informed that it was freezing cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), whose summary report on Iran actually preceded the Israeli operation.
In the meantime, the Iranian army is responding to the regional enemy by shelling military and civilian infrastructure. On June 15, Iranian ballistic missiles landed in the area of Tel Aviv, Ashkelon and Haifa. “In response to the attacks of the Zionist regime, we have focused on targets within its borders,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said at a meeting with foreign diplomats in Tehran. “We do not want the war to spread to other countries or regions, unless it is imposed on us.”
However, the countries of the Middle East are seriously afraid of being drawn into an escalation. For example, the Gulf states are worried that the United States will at some point join the confrontation between Israel and Iran, which may use its military bases on the territory of the Arabian states to directly attack Iranian facilities and support the Israelis. The largest US base in the Middle East, Al-Udeid– is located in Qatar. Washington has relevant facilities in Saudi and Emirati territories. According to Monocle magazine, it is in this regard that the Arabian states are now trying to negotiate the restoration of communication channels between the United States and Iran and end the conflict.
The Syrian transitional government is trying to strengthen control over its eastern border, which fears the movement of Shiite militias close to Iran through Iraq, ready to attack Israel from Syrian territory. Moreover, Egypt has put its armed forces on high alert, sources tell The National. He fears that the Iran-Israel conflict will spread to the Sinai Peninsula, where radical elements are already active. In addition, according to the interlocutors of the publication, Cairo intends to mitigate potential disruptions in global supply chains caused by the escalation of tensions between Israel and Iran. The economic security of the North African country depends on them.
Israel itself seems to be preparing for a protracted war. Channel 24 sources in the Netanyahu government say that the intensity and scale of attacks on Iranian territory may increase in the near future – until the final damage is inflicted on nuclear facilities in the interior of the country. Netanyahu himself does not publicly deny such an escalation trajectory. “We will strike at every facility, at every target of the Ayatollah regime. What they have felt so far is nothing compared to what they will feel in the coming days. We are acting powerfully to eliminate the double threat to Israel,” the head of government stressed.
Defrin has already warned his compatriots that the military expects continued rocket attacks from Iran in the coming days. “There are still difficult days ahead,” an IDF official admitted at a regular briefing on June 15. “There will be more attacks and hits in the coming days.” The special orders issued by the Israeli Home Front Service on June 13 have been extended until the end of this month.
Meanwhile, on the third day of the war in Tehran, conciliatory rhetoric was also heard. Araqchi said at a briefing for foreign ambassadors on June 15 that Iran would stop attacks on Israel if the Israelis stopped their attacks. He also announced that his country had sent requests to Oman and Qatar asking them to mediate, not between Iran and Israel, but between Iran and the United States. Apparently, Tehran is counting on Washington to put pressure on its ally. So far, however, it doesn’t look like it. As of June 15, there was nothing to indicate that any of the world’s influential players were ready to put pressure solely on Israel. The EU only expressed concern about the situation. The Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia, condemned the Israeli actions. But neither she, nor the Russian Federation, nor Turkey, which also condemned Israel, talk about any measures to influence it.
And US President Donald Trump, saying that his country was not involved in this war, made it clear that he expected it to end by some kind of agreement. “Iran and Israel must conclude an agreement, and they will conclude it, just as I forced India and Pakistan to conclude an agreement,” he wrote on his Truth Society social network. At the same time, it follows from his own texts that Trump unequivocally considers Iran to be responsible for the bloodshed, more precisely, its stubborn unwillingness to curtail its nuclear program.
Vladimir Sazhin, a senior researcher at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, noted in a comment to NG that along with the missile program and support for the axis of resistance (a network of Shiite and Sunni anti–Israel organizations in the Middle East), Iran’s attempt to obtain nuclear weapons is Israel’s main claim against the Islamic Republic. “According to Israeli intelligence, which has excellent positions in Iran, what was done on June 13 is, of course, the merit of intelligence, and based on official data from the IAEA, the Israelis came to the conclusion that Iran is one or two steps away from developing nuclear weapons. But, of course, they had prepared in advance. I think that the preparations began after the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023,” Sazhin said.
In his opinion, although Iran has suffered a serious blow, it is hardly possible to make an unequivocal prediction that the regime will not stand. On the one hand, the current authorities are quite unpopular in the country. One could even say that for various reasons – economic or, say, ethnonational – they are not supported by the majority of the population. “However, now Israel is hitting vital facilities of the Iranian economy and infrastructure, which, by the way, is not in the interests of Israel itself. When those facilities that support the livelihoods of the population are destroyed, they can unite – I’m not talking under the flag of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, but under the flag of Iran,” Sazhin believes.