Jesús Daniel Romero from the Miami Strategic Intelligence Institute for FinGurú
The seven-front campaign that redefined deterrence
This campaign was born out of the need for national survival. In June 2025, as Iran approached the nuclear threshold and began coordinated attacks through its proxies, Israel launched a large-scale air campaign to neutralize the threat before it materialized. Pilots received coded alerts via secure command systems, ground forces coordinated through protected channels, and unmanned aerial systems operated precisely over high-value targets near Esfahan. The objective was to prevent the operationalization of Iran's nuclear capabilities. This action reflected the strategic imperative to eliminate existential threats in accordance with Israeli defense doctrine.
The trigger: Enrichment beyond the threshold
IAEA inspectors and Western intelligence confirmed in May 2025 that Iran possessed uranium enriched to 60%, approaching weapon-grade levels (International Atomic Energy Agency, 2025). Diplomatic channels had stagnated, and cyber sabotage offered diminishing returns. Israel executed surgical strikes against three types of targets: the enrichment facilities in Natanz and Fordow, the centrifuge manufacturing center in Esfahan, and reinforced bunkers near Kuh-e Kolang Gaz La. These operations, supported by satellite imagery and electronic warfare assets, inflicted irreversible damage on Iran's nuclear infrastructure.
The collapse of the JCPOA and strategic doctrine
The failure of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), built on the Joint Action Plan from 2013–2015 under President Barack Obama, provided the strategic backdrop for Israel's campaign in 2025. Despite international monitoring mechanisms and phased sanctions relief, Iran systematically evaded restrictions through transfers with proxies, covert enrichment sites, and regional destabilization efforts. By 2025, Tehran had amassed enriched uranium and rebuilt its missile architecture and hardened nuclear infrastructure. For Israel, the collapse of the JCPOA demonstrated what it had always warned: diplomacy without enforceable red lines allows for stalling, not denial.
U.S. caution versus Israeli urgency
Despite its public stance supporting Israel's right to defend itself, the Biden administration expressed repeated signs of discomfort regarding Israeli escalation in 2024. High-ranking Israeli officials alleged that Washington was privately urging moderation, especially concerning potential attacks on Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iranian nuclear facilities. Intelligence leaks revealed that Iranian operatives planned to assassinate a sitting presidential candidate and former President Donald J. Trump — facts acknowledged by U.S. intelligence and counterintelligence agencies in late 2024 (Department of Justice, 2024; ODNI, 2025).
Political consensus and national defense
The Israeli cabinet invoked emergency national defense statutes under an almost unanimous political consensus. The decision was supported by both government and opposition figures, reflecting broader unity in wartime since the 1973 Yom Kippur War (Haaretz, 2025). Despite internal tensions over judicial reforms and civil-military matters, the Iranian nuclear threat unified national priorities.
References
Associated Press. (2025, June 14). Israel targets Iran’s Defense Ministry headquarters as Tehran unleashes deadly missile strike. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/a8b23f58b502ed77a20a9d843bf30f76
Associated Press. (2025, June 13). Israeli strikes kill Iran’s Revolutionary Guard leader, Gen. Hossein Salami. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/ce75eb0aad963c6f6257e9a2c4b376ff
Associated Press. (2025, June 15). Death toll grows as Israel and Iran trade attacks for third day. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-iran-war-latest-06-15-2025-291df01b03179cd414db21ca33791b39
Associated Press. (2025, June 19). The Latest: Israel threatens Iran’s supreme leader as Iranian strikes wound over 200. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-iran-war-latest-06-19-2025-14b868f4514a7c337d5b9859de130bf0
The Guardian. (2025, June 13). Sirens sound in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, explosions heard at Tehran airport – as it happened. Live blog. https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/jun/13/israel-iran-strikes-defence-minister-tehran-middle-east-live
Economic Times. (2025, June 19). Israel’s deadly trap: How top Iranian military chiefs were lured and eliminated — including the Army chief. The Economic Times. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/us/israels-deadly-trap-how-top-iranian-military-chiefs-were-lured-and-eliminated-including-the-army-chief-israel-iran-war-news/articleshow/121954001.cms
Wikipedia. (n.d.). June 2025 Israeli strikes on Iran. Wikipedia. Retrieved June 19, 2025, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_2025_Israeli_strikes_on_Iran
Jesús Daniel Romero is a retired Commander of U.S. Naval Intelligence and has held prominent diplomatic roles for his country in Latin America. He has also led interagency groups fighting drug trafficking in Central America.
He is a Co-Founder and Senior Fellow at the Miami Strategic Intelligence Institute, author of the Amazon bestseller "The Final Flight: Queen of Air," and is currently working on a trilogy of books about drug trafficking, narco-states, and transnational crime in Latin America.
A permanent consultant on matters of his specialty for media outlets in the state of Florida, USA.
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