Many experts say Israel would struggle to destroy Iran’s main nuclear facilities without American military support. Photo / Arash Khamooshi, The New York Times
Many experts say Israel would struggle to destroy Iran’s main nuclear facilities without American military support. Photo / Arash Khamooshi, The New York Times
The conflict between Iran and Israel has escalated yet again.
Today, explosions rocked Tehran as Israel carried out a major attack on the country’s nuclear programme, Israeli officials said.
The strikes raised fears the long-simmering conflict between the two countries could escalate into a war involving the most powerful militariesin the Middle East.
Iran’s rulers have pledged to destroy Israel and have long supported regional militias who share that goal.
Israel views Iran as an existential threat and has vowed to prevent it from building a nuclear bomb.
Israel carried out a series of attacks in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq to prevent Iran from equipping its allies with sophisticated weapons. Israel accused Iran of trying to establish an arms supply line through Iraq and northern Syria into Lebanon, where Iran had long backed the militant group Hezbollah.
Israel also attacked ships carrying Iranian oil and weapons through the eastern Mediterranean and Red seas.
Iran and Israel increasingly began attacking each other at sea.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Iran of being behind a February explosion on an Israeli-owned ship transporting vehicles sailing off the coast of Oman.
Iran accused Israel in March of targeting an Iranian cargo ship about 80km off the coast of Israel.
In April, an Iranian military vessel stationed in the Red Sea was damaged by an apparent Israeli mine attack. Such operations continued through the year.
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Assassination of an Iranian officer
In May, two assassins on motorcycles shot and killed Colonel Sayad Khodayee, an officer in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.
Israeli officials said he helped command a covert operations unit that conducted assassinations and abductions. Israel confirmed its role in the killing to the United States.
Two scientists die
Ayoub Entezari, an aeronautical engineer at a military research facility, and Kamran Aghamolaei, a geologist, died in May after developing symptoms of food poisoning. Iran said Israel poisoned them, but Israel declined to comment.
In solidarity with Hamas, other Iranian-backed militias in the region, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen, also attacked Israel.
Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, denied that Iran had any role in the October 7 attacks. But Hamas leaders spoke broadly about receiving support from regional allies, and documents show the group discussed its plans with Iran.
An airstrike in Syria
In December, Iran accused Israel of killing a high-level Iranian officer in a missile strike in Syria.
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A building hit during Iran's missile attack in Hod Hasharon last year. Photo / Avishag Shaar-Yashuv, The New York Times)
A strike on Damascus, and several rounds of retaliation
Weeks later, Iran launched more than 300 drones and missiles at Israel, nearly all of which were shot down.
Soon afterwards, Israel attacked an anti-aircraft system in Iran that protects a nuclear facility.
An assassination in Tehran
In July, Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas’ political leader, was assassinated in an explosion in a guesthouse in Tehran run by the Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. Israel later confirmed that it was behind the killing.
Similar attacks on electronic devices followed in subsequent days, killing dozens of people and injuring thousands. Israel later confirmed it conducted the attacks.
Iran in October fired about 180 ballistic missiles at Israel, in retaliation for Israel’s assassinations of Nasrallah, Haniyeh and an Iranian commander. Most were intercepted.
Israel targets Iran’s air defences
Israel launched airstrikes on Iran in late October that destroyed air-defence systems intended to protect critical infrastructure.
The airstrikes in April and October took out air-defence systems that Iran purchased from Russia, Iranian and Israeli officials said, including one in central Iran that is critical to the country’s nuclear programme.
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A person caries a child after hearing explosions in Tehran, Iran. Photo / Arash Khamooshi, The New York Times
Netanyahu proposed to US President Donald Trump a plan to strike Iranian nuclear sites, which Trump Administration members debated for months. In April, Trump decided to pursue diplomacy instead.
'I don’t want them going in,' said US President Donald Trump before Israel's airstrikes. Photo / Doug Mills, the New York Times
Recently, Iran rejected the Administration’s demand to stop all uranium enrichment, but talks about its nuclear programme are set to continue.
Earlier today Trump said there was a risk that Israel could strike Iran, torpedoing the talks. “I think it would blow it,” he said. “Might help it actually, but it could also blow it.”
Written by: Ephrat Livni, Cassandra Vinograd and Eve Sampson
Photographs by: Arash Khamooshi, Doug Mills and Avishag Shaar-Yashuv
