A.M.M.Muzammil
COLOMBO : On June 13, 2025, Israel launched Operation Rising Lion—a large-scale aerial offensive involving over 200 fighter aircraft, including advanced F-35s armed with standoff munitions. The strikes targeted more than 100 nuclear, military, and civilian sites across Iran, with senior military leaders among the primary objectives.
This unlawful aerial offensive constituted a unilateral and unprovoked act, raising grave concerns under international law and constituting a blatant violation of Iranian sovereignty. Furthermore, the strikes resulted in the deaths of multiple high-ranking Iranian officials, including the Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, the Deputy Commander, and two senior nuclear scientists.
The Israeli government, adhering to its longstanding “strike first” doctrine, has characterized the operation as a preemptive measure, asserting that it was necessary to neutralize an imminent and unavoidable threat posed by Iran’s nuclear weapons program. However, no credible evidence has emerged to substantiate this claim.
In a striking paradox, Israel—estimated to possess over 90 nuclear warheads—remains outside the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), while Iran is a committed signatory. Yet the international community persistently directs disproportionate scrutiny toward Tehran’s speculative nuclear ambitions, while largely overlooking Israel’s established and unmonitored arsenal.
Israel’s military aggression unfolded even as Iran and the United States were engaged in delicate negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program. This timing has only deepened suspicions that the assault was a calculated maneuver—an escalation designed to ratchet up pressure on Iran, with Washington’s implicit, if not explicit, endorsement.
In fact, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has publicly reaffirmed his government’s longstanding position that Iran has no intention of pursuing nuclear weapons development.Given the operation’s scale and precision, the attack was almost certainly the result of extensive, long-term planning.
In response to Israel’s act of armed aggression, the Islamic Republic of Iran exercised its inherent right to self-defense under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter. This fundamental principle of international law empowers sovereign states to protect their territorial integrity when facing armed attack.
In response, Iran initiated a sustained military campaign under the codename Operation True Promise 3, launching successive waves of ballistic missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) aimed at designated military targets. The strikes reportedly focused on key command centers, strategic defense installations—including Israeli intelligence hubs—and critical operational infrastructure. Major urban centers such as Tel Aviv, Haifa, and Beersheba were among the primary areas targeted.
Israel’s multi-tiered air defense network—including the Iron Dome, David’s Sling, Arrow, and THAAD systems—was unable to fully intercept and neutralize Iran’s advanced missile threat, particularly the Sejjil ballistic missile. This medium-range, surface-to-surface missile, with a range of approximately 2,000 kilometers, incorporates hypersonic velocity, advanced maneuverability, and countermeasure systems designed to evade interception.
As a result, key military and intelligence installations sustained considerable damage, significantly undermining Israel’s long-standing image of strategic invulnerability and exposing vulnerabilities in its national defense infrastructure. The attack underscored Tehran’s ability to inflict substantial damage, challenging Israel’s long-standing deterrence posture in the region.
For years, the world was fed a myth—Israel, untouchable, shielded by its “invincible” Iron Dome. But as the law of karma began to stir, that illusion fractured. In the span of a single night, the Zionist regime—the oppressor—was forced to drink from the same cup of suffering it had pressed to Gaza’s lips for decades. Those who once starved others and destroyed whole Gaza with bombs are now facing the same pain they caused.
For the first time in 77 years, the specter of war has reversed its gaze. Israelis now huddle in bunkers, their streets echoing with a dread once reserved for Gaza. Smoke curls into the skies above Haifa and Tel Aviv, rising over shattered buildings—an eerie echo of the devastation long endured by Gaza. Even Soroka Hospital trembles—not directly hit, yet shaken under the weight of justice’s reckoning. A haunting reflection of Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital, which Israel once leveled without mercy.
The tide had turned. Iranian missiles rained down on Israel in steady waves, shaking both the ground and the illusion of control. The world watched, stunned, as the mighty began to fall. Power that once seemed unbreakable now showed cracks. Those who had ruled by force were finally feeling fear. The hunters had become the hunted.
Iran launched its most advanced domestically developed ballistic missile, the Kheibar (Qadr-H), against Israel in retaliation for U.S. and Israeli airstrikes targeting Iranian nuclear facilities—marking a major escalation in hostilities. The Kheibar (Qadr-H) inflicted significant damage across Israeli territory and demonstrated heightened evasion capabilities, presenting a formidable challenge to interception systems like the Iron Dome.
The pithy Sinhala adage “Illan Kewaa” (You literally got what you asked for ) or more precisely, “You reaped what you sowed” perfectly encapsulates Israel’s current predicament. The Zionist regime’s carefully cultivated myth of invincibility now lies shattered, its hubris brutally exposed. Once boasting impenetrable defenses, the state now stands humbled, its vulnerabilities laid bare before the world in an unprecedented reckoning. This moment marks not merely a military setback, but the collapse of an enduring national delusion
Adding fuel to the fire, the belligerent Donald Trump recklessly escalated tensions by ordering strikes with B-2 stealth bombers and two dozen Tomahawk cruise missiles—targeting Iran’s nuclear facilities in Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan in a blatant violation of its territorial integrity and sovereignty
In accordance with the UN Charter, Iran maintains the inherent right to self-defense against armed aggression and reserves the authority to undertake proportionate and decisive measures at a time and manner of its choosing.
In the end, justice prevails—rights will always triumph over might.
