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Last Updated:June 13, 2025, 20:28 IST
On October 8, 2023, a day after militants from Palestinian Islamist group Hamas attack Israel, late Iranian president said Iran supported the Palestinians' "legitimate defence"
Tensions between Iran and Israel have escalated into open threats and missile strikes, bringing the Middle East to the brink of war. (Image: Shutterstock)
Tensions have been growing between arch-rivals Israel and Iran since the start of the war in Gaza, following the unprecedented attack on Israel launched by Hamas on October 7, 2023.
Here is a roundup of key dates leading up to Israel’s major attack on Friday, in which it pounded Iran in a series of air raids.
Hamas Attack
On October 8, 2023, a day after militants from Palestinian Islamist group Hamas attack Israel, late Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi said Iran supported the Palestinians’ “legitimate defence".
He accused Israel of “endangering the security of nations in the region".
In central Tehran, banners were raised showing solidarity with the Palestinians.
On October 28, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu affirmed that 90 percent of Hamas’s military budget came from Iran.
“It funds, it organises, it directs it."
Death Of Top Commander
On December 25, Iran blamed Israel for an attack in Syria that killed Razi Moussavi, a senior officer in the Quds Force, the arm of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that operates abroad.
Weeks later in January 2024, a strike in Damascus blamed on Israel killed five Revolutionary Guards members.
Iranian media later report that the victims included the group’s intelligence chief for Syria and his deputy.
Attack on Iranian Embassy
On April 1, an air strike blamed on Israel against Iran’s diplomatic mission in Damascus levelled the embassy’s consular annex.
It killed seven Revolutionary Guards, two of them generals.
Iran and Syria accused Israel, which neither confirmed nor denied it.
The Israeli army then stated that the casualties of the strike were “terrorists" fighting Israel.
Iran Hits Back
Nearly two weeks later, on April 13, Iran sent a wave of missiles and drones at Israel.
The attack was Tehran’s first-ever direct assault on Israeli territory since the establishment of its Islamic Republic in 1979.
Israel and other nations including the US intercepted most of the projectiles. Israel vowed to retaliate.
On April 19, explosions were reported in central Iran, with US media quoting officials saying Israel had carried out revenge strikes against its arch-rival.
Iran played down the impact of the blasts and did not directly accuse Israel, which did not claim responsibility.
Hamas Leader Killed In Tehran
On July 31, Hamas said its political leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in an overnight strike in Iran.
He was attending the swearing-in of the new President Masoud Pezeshkian. Hamas, which with Iran and Hezbollah blamed Israel, vowed the act “will not go unanswered".
On August 3, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said that Israel killed Haniyeh using a “short-range projectile" launched from outside his accommodation in Tehran. Months later, Israel took responsibility for the killing.
Hezbollah Leader Killed
Amid a mounting series of bombardments against Hezbollah, on September 27 an Israeli strike on its south Beirut stronghold killed the group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah alongside an Iranian general in the Revolutionary Guards.
Iran’s Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed that Nasrallah’s death “will not be in vain".
Iran Strike On Israel
On October 1, Iran launched a barrage of missiles at Israel in what the Revolutionary Guards said was a response to the killings of Nasrallah and Haniyeh.
In retaliation, on October 26 Israel bombed military targets in Iran, killing four servicemen.
Israeli Air Raids
In a major attack on June 13, 2025, Israel pounded Iran in a series of air raids, striking targets including Tehran’s nuclear and military sites.
The raids killed the armed forces’ chief of staff, the head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and top nuclear scientists.
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned Israel it faces a “bitter and painful" fate over the attacks.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed - AFP)
Saurabh Verma covers general, national and international day-to-day news for News18.com as a Senior Sub-editor. He keenly observes politics. You can follow him on Twitter --twitter.com/saurabhkverma19
Saurabh Verma covers general, national and international day-to-day news for News18.com as a Senior Sub-editor. He keenly observes politics. You can follow him on Twitter --twitter.com/saurabhkverma19
Jerusalem, Israel
First Published:News world Israel-Iran Tensions: Key Dates Since October 7 Attack
