75 Winter 2026 Examples of military objectives targeted by the IDF during the Operation include:41 - Facilities and objects that are part of the nuclear weapons program – enrichment facilities and centrifuges used for enriching uranium; facilities for converting uranium into metal for use in nuclear weapons; facilities for constructing centrifuges; research and development laboratories and process lines for nuclear technologies oriented for military purposes; and archives comprising the knowledge that has been used to produce nuclear weapons components. - Ballistic missile capabilities – missile launchers, weapons depots and missile transport vehicles. - Other offensive weapons systems - Weapons production facilities – missile and drone factories; facilities producing chemical agents; and other material and objects necessary to produce weapons of mass destruction. - Defensive weapons systems – air defense batteries, radars, and surface-to-air missiles. - Other military objectives – military bases, as well as a fuel facility used for weapons manufacturing and for the operation of military bases and command centers, supplying fuel for missiles and other military hardware. It should be made clear that no objects were targeted on the basis that they belonged to the Iranian regime’s government apparatus, but only when they met the customary definition of a ‘military objective’, based on credible intelligence. For example, the Iranian armed forces have systematically exploited the assets and operations of the State broadcasting authority to conduct military operations under the guise of civilian activities, with cooperation between the broadcasting authority and the Iranian aerial defense array, and also used the site for additional military activities that made an effective contribution to Iran’s military action (activities going beyond mere dissemination of propaganda). In another example, the IDF attacked specific parts of the Evin prison in Tehran due to military counter-intelligence activity that took part within the facility. Contrary to some claims, Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Justice were not attacked. With regard to persons, the IDF targeted members of Iran’s armed forces, and other persons who took a direct part in the hostilities. Examples include: - Servicemembers of organizations that are part of Iran’s armed forces: n The traditional military (the Artesh) – including the chief-of-staff (and second-in-command after the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei); the military’s most senior intelligence officer and other senior officers; military scientists involved in the nuclear weapons program; and service members involved in launching and transporting missiles. n Khatam al-Anbiya (Emergency Command) – including the commander and other senior officers and military scientists involved in the nuclear weapons program. n Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (the IRGC) – including the commander of the IRGC; the commander of the surface-to-surface missile array; the commander of the Quds Force weapons transfer unit (responsible for funding and for weapons transfers to armed groups acting against Israel including weapons and arms specifically designated to be used against Israel); and the commander of the Quds Force Palestine Corps (whose areas of responsibility included the relationship between Iran and Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, overseeing the transfer of funds to these armed groups designated for general and specific military activities against Israel, assistance with operational planning, and coordination between these groups and other Iranian proxies). - Persons who take a direct part in the hostilities – including nuclear scientists working for the Iranian Ministry of Defense’s Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research (also known as SPND) on the development and assembly of nuclear weapons – all possessing exceptional, necessary expertise and actively employing this knowledge with the specific purpose of deploying nuclear weapons against Israel, thereby working to achieve a pivotal effect on the outcome of the armed conflict between Iran and Israel.42 41. Further information on the targets of the IDF’s attacks during the Operation can be found at the IDF’s website: https:// www.idf.il/en/mini-sites/operation-rising-lion/. 42. The IDF Eliminated Nine Senior Scientists and Experts in the Iranian Nuclear Project, IDF (June 13, 2025), https://
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