Guts and Glory
Stars and Stripes
Tensions Escalate in the Middle East
In the predawn hours of June 13, Israel launched a series of strikes against Iran that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dubbed Operation Rising Lion. The first wave of attacks targeted Iran’s nuclear infrastructure and its military leadership. With U.S.-Iran negotiations seemingly on hold indefinitely, Britannica examines the events that led to this moment.
Formulating the Begin DoctrineOn June 7, 1981, Israeli aircraft destroyed the Osirak nuclear reactor outside of Baghdad. This attack on Iraq’s nascent nuclear program met with international criticism, but the government of Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin declared that Israel would adhere to a doctrine of preemptive military action against the nuclear programs of hostile regional states.
Cyberwar meets the real worldIn June 2010 security experts uncovered a computer worm that they named Stuxnet. Its target appeared to be nuclear facilities in Iran, and its sophistication implied that it had been created by a country—most likely, the United States or Israel. By causing precision machinery to malfunction, it’s estimated that Stuxnet caused significant setbacks to Iran’s nuclear program.
To the negotiating tableThe Obama administration reached a comprehensive agreement that would have seen the curtailment of Iran’s nuclear ambitions in exchange for relief from international sanctions. That deal was scuttled by Pres. Donald Trump in 2018.
And back to the negotiating table...Trump returned to office in 2025 vowing to be a “peacemaker,” but Israel’s air strikes appear to have brought talks to a halt.
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