The Israeli military carried out a series of air strikes on strategic sites in Iran, targeting nuclear infrastructure near the cities of Qom and Isfahan, Iranian and Israeli media reported on June 21, 2025. The attack, which came in response to overnight rocket fire in central Israel, left two people dead and four wounded in Qom. The strike on Iran escalates an already tense situation in the region, highlighting Israel's determination to confront Tehran's nuclear ambitions.

According to the Iranian Fars news agency, the Israeli strikes hit the outskirts of Qom, where one of the key sites of Iran's nuclear program is located - the underground Fordow complex, designed to enrich uranium. The Israeli portal Ynet specifies that among the dead, presumably, was an employee associated with the nuclear program, although there was no official confirmation of this information from Tehran. In Isfahan, another center of Iranian nuclear research, explosions were also recorded that damaged infrastructure. According to The Jerusalem Post, the Israeli Air Force used precision munitions to minimize civilian casualties, focusing strikes on military and nuclear facilities.

The attack was in response to Iran's rocket fire into Israel on the night of June 21. According to the IDF, several rockets were launched from Iran's central provinces, targeting Tel Aviv and the surrounding areas. Most were intercepted by the Iron Dome system, but debris from one rocket fell on a residential building in Tel Aviv, causing a fire. Firefighters quickly extinguished the blaze, and Magen David Adom ambulance service said there were no casualties, the Times of Israel reported. Air raid sirens rang out, forcing thousands of residents to take refuge in bomb shelters, heightening tensions.

The context for the escalation is the ongoing standoff over Iran’s nuclear program. According to Reuters, Israel has stepped up attacks on uranium and missile production facilities in recent months, fearing that Iran is moving closer to nuclear weapons. According to a May 2025 report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Tehran has increased its stockpile of highly enriched uranium to near-weapons-grade levels, causing alarm in the West. Iran, for its part, has justified its actions by citing the need to defend itself against Israeli “aggression” and has accused Tel Aviv of provocations, according to the state-run IRNA news agency.