Penetrating blows: What the U.S.-Israel campaign in Iran really achieved

In the predawn hours of Friday, June 13, Israel launched a massive airstrike across Iran. Defense Minister Israel Katz described the mission as “preemptive,” aimed at preventing Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

The operation, code‑named “Am K'Lavi” (“Rising Lion”), draws its name from Numbers 23:24:

“Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a young lion: he shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, and drink the blood of the slain.”

As The Insider reported in April, such a military operation was likely to begin shortly after the expiration of the 60-day window Donald Trump had set for a diplomatic resolution, provided that those efforts failed. The indirect U.S.-Iran talks began in Oman on April 12, and the IDF launched airstrikes on the night of June 13 — 61 days later.