The official insignia of the Israeli Mossad.
Israel’s Mossad spy agency built a drone base inside Iran in preparation for the attack on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear sites that began early on June 13, The Times of Israel reported, citing an Israeli security official.
The online newspaper said that the Mossad smuggled precision weapons systems and commandos into Iran, adding that the attack hinged on tight joint planning between the spy agency and the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF)
Mossad agents set up a drone base near the Iranian capital, Tehran, according to a report, which said that the drones were activated overnight, striking surface-to-surface missile launchers aimed at Israel.
In addition, vehicles carrying weapons systems were smuggled into Iran. These systems took out Iran’s air defenses and gave Israeli warplanes air supremacy and freedom of action over Iran, The Times of Israel said.
The official who spoke to the online newspaper also revealed that Mossad commandos deployed precision missiles near air defense sites in central Iran.
The operations relied on “groundbreaking thinking, bold planning and surgical operation of advanced technologies, special forces and agents operating in the heart of Iran while totally evading the eyes of local intelligence,” the official said.
Separately, the IDF announced that the Israeli Air Force (IAF) dealt an “extensive blow” to air defense sites in the west of Iran.
Dozens of radars and air defense missile launchers were destroyed, according to the IDF, which said that the strikes “improve the freedom of action in the air” for the IAF.
Footage released by the IDF shows what appears to be an Iranian Sevom Khordad medium-range air defense system being targeted. The military also shared an animation implying that over a dozen air defense sites in western Iran were attacked by the IAF.
The main target of the Israeli attack, codenamed “Operation Rising Lion,” was the Nataz nuclear facilities, where uranium is enriched. Several sites inside and around Tehran were also stuck, causing civilian casualties.
The IDF said that several top Iranian officials were also killed in the strikes, including Iran’s military commander Mohammad Bagheri, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) chief Hossein Salami, and head of the Khatam-al Anbiya Central Headquarters, Gholam Ali Rashid.
In addition, Iran’s state TV reported that nuclear scientists Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani and Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi were killed in the strikes. The semi-official Tasnim news agency said, however, that a total of six scientists were killed, without providing names. Senior adviser Ali Shamkhani was also killed in strikes, according to the Iran International website.
Iran has already vowed to respond, with the military announcing that there were “no limits” on their retaliation to Israel after the attack.
“Now that the terrorist regime occupying al-Quds [Jerusalem] has crossed all red lines… [there are] no limits in responding to this crime,” the armed forces general staff says in a statement.
While the extent of damage dealt to Natanz and other nuclear facilities remains unclear, there is no denying that the Israeli attack was a success on many levels. The losses of Iranian air defenses appear to be extensive as no interceptions were reported during the attack.
The Mossad attack from within the Islamic Republic was not surprising, as Israel carried out such operations in the past. Still, Tehran failed to see this happening on a much larger scale.
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