The results of the Israel-Iran conflict are still coming in. We don’t know for sure what was really accomplished But we do know some things and I’ll try to sum-up what we do know.
The Washington Examiner summed up some of the accomplishments of Israel in the conflict. “For 12 days, Israel ruled the Iranian air unmolested, targeting major military installations and nuclear facilities. After deploying a slew of creative feints and ruses, the IDF knocked out Iran’s entire aerial defense as Mossad decapitated virtually the entirety of the Iranian military leadership. Among others, Israel killed the chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the chief of Iran’s emergency military command, and the commander of the Air Force. Wiping out the enemy’s top generals and disrupting the entire chain of command was an unprecedented feat in warfare. That was just the opening day. The IDF estimated that it ended up destroying around 65% of Iran’s ballistic missile launchers and up to 1,000 missiles before they were launched. Its military infrastructure has been set back many years and tens of billions of dollars.” In contrast, Iran fired at civilian targets killing 27.[i] Iran’s reprisals were a terror campaign.
But there were costs and there were vulnerabilities. At the beginning Israel’s Iron Dome and US forces were successfully intercepting about 95% of Iran’s missiles. By the end that number was reduced to 65% and one report suggested only 50%. In the process though, Israel was using up an enormous amount of its’ anti-missile defense system that could take years to replace. And the same was true for the US. Here’s a headline from Military Watch Magazine. “U.S. Used Up 15-20 Percent of its Global THAAD Anti-Missile Arsenal in Just 11 Days of Mid-Intensity Combat: Cost Over $800 Million.”[ii] Iran was whupped bad, but still maintained offensive capabilities. It has been suggested that the Israel and the US wanted the cease fire to preserve their defensive weapons.
Of course, we all know by now that the US joined the fray dropping several 30,000-pound bombs on Iran’s Fordow nuclear facility. President Trump claimed that Fordow along with two other sites were “obliterated.” That was quickly followed by a leak of an assessment by the DIA (Defense Intelligence Agency) that the strikes had done only minimal damage and only set back the nuclear program a number of months. But the report was officially dubbed of “low confidence” – it was the only agency even suggesting that the strikes were not successful. The UN’s IAEA reported that the Iranian program was severely damaged.[iii] By the end of the week, CNN was changing its’ tune, reporting “The US operation against the Iranian nuclear sites “seems to have worked flawlessly!….The 20,000 centrifuges… they are all COMPLETELY DESTROYED!” Even the Iranian Foreign Minister admitted, “The damage to Iran’s nuclear facilities is ‘high and serious’”[iv]
An Updated Report
By the end of the week the IDF issued an updated report on Operation Rising Lion, the Israeli name for the Twelve Day War. In the first few minutes of the conflict it began with two sub-operations, Operation Red Wedding & Operation Narnia. The first took out thirty Iranian generals in a “simultaneous blitz.” The second eliminated “Iran’s top nuclear scientists.” With its most senior generals dead, Iran’s initial response in the war was delayed almost a full 24 hours.
IDF Summary of the 12 Day War, Operation Rising Lion
“1. Iran’s Nuclear Program Significantly Damaged: Iran currently lacks the capability to enrich uranium to 90%, which has been neutralized for an extended period. The regime’s ability to produce the core of a nuclear weapon was eliminated. Thousands of centrifuges were destroyed, exceeding the original plan.
- Iran’s Missile Production Capabilities Severely Impaired: Iran will be unable to produce thousands of missiles as planned in the coming years, with its missile production capacity currently neutralized. ….Rebuilding capabilities will require a lengthy process. Approximately 200 missile launchers, about 50% of Iran’s arsenal, were destroyed.
- IDF Achieved Air Superiority Over Iran: 80% of Iran’s air defense systems in the operational areas were destroyed, equating to roughly 80 out of 100 air defense batteries. Additionally, about 70 Iranian radars were destroyed. In the opening strike, 60% of Iran’s strategic air defense batteries were eliminated, a key enabler for the operation’s continuation.
Additional Data:
– Interception Rates: 86% of Iranian ballistic missiles and 99% of drones were intercepted.
– Air Force Operations: The Israeli Air Force conducted over 1,500 sorties, striking more than 900 targets.
– Tehran Strikes: In the final 24 hours of the operation, widespread attacks on Revolutionary Guard Corps headquarters in Tehran resulted in an estimated 200–300 Revolutionary Guards and Basij fighters killed.
[Iran’s terror proxies stayed out of the fight.]– Disruption of Iranian Missile Launches: The IDF estimates Iran launched only 60% of the planned missile barrages, meaning 40% of the missiles intended for Israel were not fired.
– Damage to Israeli Home Front: 2,305 apartments in 240 buildings were damaged, leaving 13,197 Israelis homeless.”
Taking Stock
The war was another step by Israel – with the aid of the US – in the reordering of the Middle East. The Wall Street Journal called it “The bookend on a series of wars that defanged Iran’s powerful militia allies Hezbollah and Hamas, helped advance the collapse of the Iran-backed Assad regime in Syria and ultimately put Iran itself in a corner.”[v] All that is true. It did not however take out Iran or remove the Islamist regime that runs that country. And the attacks on Iran were only a setback. They did not permanently remove the threat.
Iran is a paradox. On the one hand, the Iranian church is said to be the fasting growing in the world. But it needs to remain underground to avoid the wrath of the Ayatollah and the Mullahs. A large portion of the population would welcome an end to the Islamist regime. And then there is this. The Iranian regime is Shia. And as Shia, they are something called Twelvers. They are waiting for the return of the Mahdi who, according to their holy texts, will return to lead Islam to conquer the entire world. “Born in 868, al-Mahdi is believed to have gone into a state of ‘occultation’ in 874 — meaning Allah miraculously caused him to ‘disappear.’” In its’ current form in Iran, Mahdism “requires its adherents to take ‘proactive’ steps to help usher in the Mahdi — most notably by initiating an ‘apocalyptic’ showdown with the ‘greater’ and ‘lesser’ satans, namely, America and Israel.” In fact, according to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, their elite fighting force, “the existence of Israel is being viewed and understood as the ‘greatest barrier’ to the reappearance of the 12th Imam. According to the doctrine of Mahdism, part of preparing for the reappearance of the 12th Imam is removing all obstacles and barriers to his return. Against this backdrop, Iran’s hardline clergy affiliated with the IRGC claim religious hadiths state that the ‘Jewish state will be destroyed before Mahdi’s arrival.’”[vi] The Iranian government has been pushing this ideology for decades now.
There is yet another outcome to this war. In Ezekiel 38, we read of the Gog / Magog War, an alliance that will come against Israel in the last days. Iran, under its’ ancient name of Persia, is to be a key player in that alliance. Turkey too, is to participate in the campaign against Israel. It is notable that during the conflict just ended, Turkey signaled that it might be ready to come to the support of Iran. Russia, too made noises to that effect. And many – though not all – prophecy scholars see Russia as another participant in that alliance.
[i] Israel’s war with Iran was a historic success, Washington Examiner, June 25, 2025
[ii] U.S. Used Up 15-20 Percent of its Global THAAD Anti-Missile Arsenal in Just 11 Days of Mid-Intensity Combat: Cost Over $800 Million, Military Watch Magazine, June 25, 2025
[iii] Hegseth: Why Is There Low Confidence About Fordow? Because The Evidence Is Buried Under A Mountain, Devastated By Twelve 30k Pound Bombs, Real Clear Politics, June 25, 2025
[iv] Amier Tsarfati, Telegram, June 27, 2025
[v] Israel’s War With Iran Has Reordered the Middle East, Wall Street Journal, June 27, 2025
[vi]Mahdism: The Apocalyptic Ideology Behind Iran’s Nuclear Program, Middle East Forum, December 19, 2023
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