Twelve-Day War

The Twelve-Day War was an armed conflict between Iran and Israel which lasted from 13 to 24 June 2025. It began when Israel bombed military and nuclear facilities in Iran in a surprise attack, assassinating prominent military leaders, nuclear scientists, and politicians, killing civilians, and damaging or destroying air defenses. Iran retaliated with over 550 ballistic missiles and over 1,000 suicide drones, hitting civilian population centers, one hospital and at least twelve military, energy, and government sites. The United States intercepted Iranian attacks and bombed three Iranian nuclear sites on 22 June. Iran retaliated by firing missiles at a US base in Qatar. On 24 June, Israel and Iran agreed to a ceasefire under US pressure.

The war followed a decades-long proxy conflict in which Iran supported an Axis of Resistance against Israeli and US interests in the region. Iran's development of nuclear enrichment capabilities has been an international controversy for decades, with Israel and its allies seeking to prevent Iranian nuclear weapons development. In 2015, under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), six countries lifted sanctions on Iran, which froze its nuclear program. In 2018, US president Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the plan. Iran began stockpiling enriched uranium and largely suspended International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) monitoring. Following the October 7 attacks in 2023, both Hamas and Hezbollah entered into open conflict with Israel. In April 2024, Israel bombed Iran's consulate in Damascus, Syria, killing senior Iranian military officials. Direct conflict continued in April and October of 2024. The day before Israel started the Twelve-Day War in June 2025, the IAEA declared Iran non-compliant with its nuclear obligations in a resolution put forward by the United States, United Kingdom, France, and Germany.

Israel's attacks, which reportedly involved commando units and Mossad operatives in Iran, killed several of Iran's military leaders, leaders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and at least 10 leading nuclear scientists. The war saw internet blackouts by the Iranian government. Israeli and US airstrikes damaged the nuclear facilities at Natanz, Isfahan, and Fordow, damaging them extensively. Iran suspended cooperation with the IAEA, which it said had passed information about nuclear facilities and scientists to Israel. Iran's total death toll has been estimated at between 1,060 and 1,190; thousands were wounded, tens of thousands were displaced, and the government ordered internet blackouts. Israel struck high-rise buildings, including apartments. Iranian missiles struck military and government sites, apartments, a research center, and a hospital.

The United Nations and most countries expressed deep concern over Israel's strikes and called for a diplomatic solution. The strikes were condemned by many countries, including most Muslim-majority and Arab states. The International Commission of Jurists and some other legal scholars saw the Israeli strikes as a violation of international law. Meanwhile, Argentina, Germany, Ukraine, and the United States said the strikes on Iran were justified to prevent nuclear proliferation and said Iran should agree to a nuclear deal promptly. Nine months later, on 28 February 2026, Israel and the United States launched strikes on Iran, beginning the 2026 Iran war.