• Israel launched blistering attacks on the heart of Iran’s nuclear and military structure on June 13, deploying warplanes and drones previously smuggled into the country to assault key facilities and kill top generals and scientists. This operation was code-named ‘Rising Lion’.

• Reports indicated that Hossein Salami, the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), as well as several prominent nuclear scientists, were among those killed.

• Israel asserted the barrage was necessary before its adversary got any closer to building an atomic weapon, although experts and the US government have assessed that Iran was actively working on such a weapon before the strikes. Iran says its nuclear programme is only for peaceful purposes.

• The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the operation’s primary objective was to disable Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, though it also targeted key military commanders and bases.

• Among the key sites Israel attacked was Iran's main nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz. It also appeared to strike a second, smaller nuclear enrichment facility in Fordo, about 100 kilometers southeast of Tehran. Fordow nuclear facility, which is 32 km northeast of Qom, lies around 100 metre underground. Israel said it struck a nuclear research facility in Isfahan too. 

• Iran retaliated by firing waves of ballistic missiles at Israel, where explosions flared in the skies over Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and shook the buildings below. 

• Air raid sirens sounded across Israel, including in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, sending residents rushing into shelters as successive waves of Iranian missiles streaked across the skies and Israeli interceptors rose up to meet them. Iran’s counterstrike was codenamed ‘True Promise 3’.

UNSC convenes emergency session

• UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned Israeli strikes in Iran, urging ‘maximum restraint’ from Member States. 

• The UN Security Council convened an emergency session on June 13.

• The Council cleared its original schedule to address the rapidly evolving crisis, also hearing from the head of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), who warned of the grave risks to regional stability and nuclear safety.

• Rafael Grossi, Director General of IAEA, said his agency was in constant contact with the Iranian Nuclear Regulatory Authority to assess the status of affected facilities and determine broader impacts on nuclear safety and security.

• He stressed that nuclear sites must never be targeted under any circumstances.

• At Natanz, the above-ground part of the Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant, where Iran was producing uranium enriched up to 60 per cent U-235, has been destroyed. There is no indication of a physical attack on the underground cascade hall containing part of the Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant and the main Fuel Enrichment Plant. However, the loss of power to the cascade hall may have damaged the centrifuges there.

India in touch with Israel, Iran

• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called up Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday on the evolving situation. 

• Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar spoke to his counterparts in both Israel and Iran as tension in the region escalated further.

• The Ministry of External Affairs said the existing channels of dialogue and diplomacy should be utilised to work towards a de-escalation of the situation and resolving underlying issues.

• India asserted that it enjoys close and friendly relations with both the countries and stands ready to extend all possible support.

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