Iranian military in the context of April 2024 Iranian strikes on Israel

On 13 April 2024, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), a branch of the Iranian Armed Forces, in collaboration with the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, and the Ansar Allah (Houthis), launched attacks against Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights with loitering munitions, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles. The attack was codenamed by Iran as Operation True Promise (Persian: وعده صادق, romanized: va'de-ye sādeq). Iran said it was retaliation for the Israeli bombing of the Iranian embassy in Damascus on 1 April, which killed two Iranian generals. The strike was seen as a spillover of the Gaza war and marked Iran's first direct attack on Israel since the start of their proxy conflict.

Several countries in the Middle East closed their airspace a few hours before Iran launched a standoff attack against Israel around midnight on 13 April. Iran's attack sent around 170 drones, over 30 cruise missiles, and more than 120 ballistic missiles toward Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. The Israel Defense Forces used Arrow 3 and David's Sling systems to shoot down many of the incoming weapons. American, British, French, and Jordanian air forces also shot some down. France, which intervened at Jordan's request, deployed warships to provide radar coverage. Jordan said it had intercepted objects flying into its airspace to protect its citizens.

Greater Tunb and Lesser Tunb (Persian: تنب بزرگ, Tonb-e Bozorg, Arabic: طنب الكبرى, Tunb el-Kubra) are two small islands in the eastern Persian Gulf, close to the Strait of Hormuz. They lie at 26°15′N 55°16′E / 26.250°N 55.267°E / 26.250; 55.267 and 26°14′N 55°08′E / 26.233°N 55.133°E / 26.233; 55.133, respectively, some 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) from each other and 20 kilometres (12 mi) south of the Iranian island of Qeshm. The islands are administered by Iran as part of its Hormozgan province.

Greater Tunb has a surface area of 10.3 km (4.0 sq mi). It is known for its red soil. There are conflicting descriptions about its population: While some sources state there are between a few dozen and a few hundred inhabitants, others describe the island as having no native civilian population. There is reported to be an Iranian garrison and naval station, an aircraft runway, a fish storage facility and a red-soil mine. Lesser Tunb has a surface of 2 km (0.77 sq mi) and is uninhabited with the exception of a small airfield, harbour, and entrenched Iranian military unit.