Israel has released its first official footage showing airstrikes carried out in western Iran under what it has named Operation Roaring Lion, marking a significant escalation in the rapidly intensifying Middle East conflict following coordinated military action by Israel and the United States. The Israeli Defense Forces said hundreds of targets were struck during the operation, which formed part of a broader campaign launched alongside American strikes aimed at Iranian leadership and strategic infrastructure.
According to officials familiar with the operation, the initial wave of attacks conducted under the US-led component, referred to as Operation Epic Fury, focused primarily on senior Iranian figures and key command structures. Reports indicated that Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian were among the intended targets, although the outcomes of those strikes were not immediately confirmed. The strikes have sharply heightened tensions and pushed the region closer to a wider conflict, with US President Donald Trump describing the operation as necessary to eliminate a long-standing security threat while encouraging political change inside Iran.
The military escalation has further diminished prospects for diplomacy over Iran’s nuclear programme. Recent indirect negotiations between Washington and Tehran failed to produce progress, and the latest developments appear to have effectively halted diplomatic momentum. Iran has consistently denied pursuing nuclear weapons but has maintained that its missile capabilities are non-negotiable, a key sticking point in talks with Western powers.
Iran responded quickly, with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announcing the launch of missile and drone attacks against Israel and warning that US bases and interests across the region were within striking range. Explosions were reported in multiple Gulf locations, including Abu Dhabi and Dubai, where witnesses described loud blasts strong enough to shake buildings. Bahrain confirmed that an area near the US Fifth Fleet’s service centre had been targeted by a missile strike, while Qatar said its air defences intercepted incoming missiles and asserted its right to respond if necessary.
In a public address, President Trump referenced decades of hostility between Washington and Tehran, including the 1979 US embassy hostage crisis, and urged Iranian civilians to remain sheltered amid ongoing attacks. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu similarly framed the operation as an effort to weaken Iran’s leadership and create conditions for political change within the country. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz described the strikes as pre-emptive actions intended to neutralise threats linked to Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.
The confrontation follows months of rising tensions and comes after a brief but intense aerial conflict between Israel and Iran the previous year. With retaliatory strikes already underway and regional airspace increasingly militarised, fears are growing that the conflict could expand beyond bilateral hostilities into a broader regional war involving multiple countries and military alliances.
