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What Can We Learn From Israel’s Attack on Iran

What Can We Learn From Israel’s Attack on Iran
TEHRAN, IRAN - JUNE 13: The view from a living room of a residential building that was destroyed in an attack by Israel on June 13, 2025 in Tehran, Iran.
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Commentary
On June 13, 2025, Israel launched a direct and sustained attack on Iran—a calculated and multi-layered military operation that marked the culmination of years of strategic buildup, intelligence assessments, and unheeded warnings. While the world debates the implications, the more important question is: What can we learn from this operation?

Why Now?

To understand the timing, one must recognize the growing urgency in Israeli assessments over the past year. Iran had been accelerating its nuclear enrichment program and advancing weaponization research at an alarming pace. At the same time, it became increasingly immune to deterrence. Iran dismissed U.S. efforts to signal a credible military threat and interpreted international caution as strategic paralysis.
Eyal Tsir Cohen is a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) and a former senior intelligence executive in Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office, where he served for 35 years.