Even as Israeli assassinations and bombings were already underway, the Trump administration initiated a final, clandestine diplomatic attempt to resolve the nuclear standoff, according to The Washington Post. Unbeknownst to Tehran, this secret proposal – which promised the removal of “all sanctions placed on Iran” in exchange for the dismantling of enrichment sites and the cessation of support for terror proxies – served as the final opportunity to avert the introduction of American firepower into the conflict.
In June, preparations for war were virtually finished, The Washington Post reported. Numerous Israeli agents were positioned within Iran, armed with sophisticated weaponry. Israeli Air Force pilots awaited orders to strike nuclear infrastructure and missile sites. Jerusalem and the US had reached a consensus on Tehran’s nuclear progress. Diplomatic ruses were employed to distract the regime.
Security officials knew that lasting damage required eliminating the “brain trust,” the scientists whom intelligence agencies believed were mastering the creation of atomic bombs.
At 3:21 a.m. on June 13, Israeli weapons struck Tehran, initiating Operation Narnia. Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi, a sanctioned physicist, was killed in his apartment. Fereydoun Abbasi, another key figure, died two hours later. Israel stated it assassinated 11 senior scientists during the campaign.
The Washington Post and PBS “Frontline” revealed these details based on interviews with officials. Experts say the program has been set back years, though this contradicts President Donald Trump’s claim that it was “completely and totally obliterated.”
Amir Tehranchi told Frontline regarding his brother: “With the killing of these professors, they might be gone, but their knowledge isn’t lost to our country.”
Israel had previously killed scientists using deniable methods. In June, however, it acted openly, emboldened by successes against proxies in Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria. An Israeli Air Force general stated they finally had an “operational opportunity to do it.”
For Operation Narnia, analysts identified the 100 most critical scientists, narrowing the list to about a dozen. The Washington Post and Bellingcat verified 71 civilian casualties in the strikes.
One attack on the Professors Complex killed 10 civilians. Another strike targeted Mohammad Reza Sedighi Saber but killed his son. Saber was later killed in Astaneh-ye Ashrafiyeh.
“One of the major considerations for the planning of Operation Narnia was to try to minimize as much as possible the collateral damage,” a senior Israeli officer said.
A US B-2 bomber like the one used in Fordo in flight at an undisclosed location (USAF / AFP)
Brig. Gen. Elad Edri noted Iranian retaliation killed 31 Israelis. Tehran claimed 1,062 deaths from the Israeli campaign. The wider campaign, Rising Lion, destroyed over half of Iran’s missile launchers and decimated air defenses. US B-2 bombers and Tomahawk missiles participated. Inside Iran, Mossad mobilized agents equipped with a “special weapon” for precision attacks.
“This operation is unprecedented in history,” the official said. “We mobilized our own assets and agents to go close to Tehran and launch the ground operation before the [Israeli] Air Force could enter Iranian airspace.”
Israel had long contemplated this assault. Obstacles vanished after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack. The ensuing war in Gaza and operations against Hezbollah changed the strategic landscape. The collapse of the Syrian regime in 2024 also contributed.
“Plans changed along the years, but they became very concrete after those two events,” the Israeli Air Force general said. While the US and Israel agreed Iran was seeking a weapon, intelligence assessments varied. Since 2023, the CIA believed the SPND unit at Tehran’s Ministry of Defense was studying how to build a bomb if the fatwa was reversed.
By spring 2025, Israeli analysts feared they might not detect weapon assembly in time. On June 12, the IAEA declared Tehran in violation of obligations.
Netanyahu presented Trump with four attack scenarios. Planning continued despite Trump’s desire for diplomacy. “The thinking was, if talks fail, we are ready to go,” a source said.
“The Israeli prime minister first showed Trump what the operation would look like if Israel attacked alone. The second option was for Israel to take the lead, with minimal US support. The third was full collaboration between the two allies. The last option was for the US to take the lead,” The Washington Post reported.
The Iran-Israel war took place in June 2025 (Pictured: The Iranian flag next to a missile in Iran in 2008) / AP Photo/Fars News Agency, Vahid Reza Alaei
In April, Trump gave Iran 60 days to agree to a deal. As the deadline passed, he and Netanyahu used deception to mask the coming strike.
“All the reports that were written about Bibi not being on the same page with Witkoff or Trump were not true,” the source said. “But it was good that this was the general perception, it helped to move on with the planning without many people noticing it.”
The Trump administration made a final push even as bombing began, secretly transmitting a proposal. The terms included Tehran ending support for proxies and “replacing” the Fordow facility and “any other functioning facility”. In return, the US would lift “all sanctions placed on Iran.”
“What Iran did not know is that this overture would be its final opportunity before Trump approved US firepower joining Israel’s,” The Post reported. Tehran rejected it, and Trump authorized US strikes, a diplomat told the Post.
The Soroka Medical Center following the barrage on Thursday, June 19, 2025 / AP
Officials say damage is severe. “Overall, the damage caused by airstrikes to numerous nuclear sites was extensive and, in many cases, catastrophic,” the Institute for Science and International Security stated.
Israel claims the program is “significantly delayed”. IAEA chief Rafael Mariano Grossi told Frontline damage is “very substantial,” though the uranium stockpile “is where it was by and large.”
“Obviously, without having physical access to a place, any evaluation is partial,” Grossi said.
Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani told Frontline: “Iran’s nuclear program can never be destroyed… Because once you have discovered a technology, they can’t take the discovery away.”
