Official Mossad logo. (Photo via: Israeli government)
OAN Staff Brooke Mallory 3:53 PM – Friday, June 13, 2025
In a series of meticulously planned covert operations, Israeli intelligence operatives reportedly smuggled missiles and embedded explosive drones deep within Iranian territory in the lead-up to Friday’s assaults.
According to Israeli security sources, the agents then deceived senior Iranian military officials into convening at a targeted location, where they were subsequently eliminated.
The Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations, better known as Mossad, is the national intelligence agency of the State of Israel. It is one of the main entities in the Israeli Intelligence Community, along with Aman and Shin Bet.
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Operatives from Mossad, Israel’s premier intelligence agency, are said to have begun infiltrating critical areas of Iran months in advance. Their mission: to orchestrate a surprise strike designed to cripple Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, undermine its military capabilities, and eliminate high-ranking commanders.
The explosive drones, planted well ahead of the main offensive, were part of the broader operational strategy to ensure maximum impact during the coordinated attacks.
Israeli operatives also succeeded in covertly transporting precision-guided weaponry into central Iran, enabling strikes on Tehran’s air defense infrastructure from within its own borders.
The clandestine campaign, code-named Operation “Rising Lion,” was executed in three distinct phases early Friday, each targeting specific elements of Iran’s military arsenal and defensive systems, according to an Israeli security source who reached out to the U.S. press.
In the first phase, commando units deployed advanced precision munitions in close proximity to Iranian surface-to-air missile installations, executing targeted strikes intended to neutralize those defenses.
The second phase involved the covert assembly of strike platforms and the integration of targeting technologies onto mobile units, which were subsequently launched to directly engage and disrupt Iranian air defense networks.
The final phase of the operation focused on Iran’s surface-to-surface missile launchers stationed at a military base on the outskirts of Tehran. At the designated time, explosive-laden drones were remotely activated and dispatched to the site.
The unmanned aerial vehicles successfully reached the base and neutralized the launchers, which, according to Israeli sources, “posed a threat to Israeli strategic and civilian targets.”
The coordinated sabotage operations paved the way for Israeli airstrikes to effectively dismantle radar systems and other surface-to-air defense infrastructure across Iran. In addition to crippling these defensive capabilities, the strikes also targeted key nuclear facilities, including uranium enrichment sites.
According to the Israeli military, approximately 200 aircraft participated in the initial wave of the assault, which struck nearly 100 targets across Iran. Among the most significant was the country’s primary nuclear enrichment complex at Natanz, where plumes of black smoke could be seen billowing into the sky.
Later that morning, Israeli officials also confirmed the destruction of dozens of radar installations and surface-to-air missile batteries in western Iran, further degrading the country’s aerial defense systems.
The strikes also claimed the lives of several senior Iranian military leaders, including: Gen. Hossein Salami, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps; Mohammad Bagheri, Chief of the General Staff; Gholam Ali Rashid, head of Iran’s emergency military command; and Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the Revolutionary Guards’ Aerospace Force.
Additionally, an Israeli official told Fox News that the operation was further bolstered by a deception campaign that lured several top Iranian air force commanders into a meeting — where they were then successfully targeted.
“We carried out specific activities to help us learn more about them, and then used that information to influence their behavior,” the official stated. “We knew this would lead them to meet, but more importantly, we knew how to keep them there.”
However, it is somewhat unclear how Israel was specifically able to trick the Iranian officials by luring them together.
“Significant intelligence was gathered and surveillance was conducted to incriminate senior members of the Iranian defense establishment and nuclear scientists who were eliminated,” a source told The New York Post. “This was carried out alongside a covert operational campaign targeting Iran’s strategic missile array,” he continued.
The “unparalleled” strikes appear to constitute the most consequential military assault on Iran since the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s. Following the operation’s completion, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu adamantly defended it, framing the attack as a necessary measure to “roll back” Iran’s threat to Israel’s “survival.”
Additionally, Iranian leadership has taken an increasingly adversarial tone—rejecting U.S. nuclear proposals, condemning American “bullying,” in their own words, while threatening U.S. military bases, halting nuclear talks, and blaming Washington, D.C., for backing Israel.
امشب، میخواهم با شما، مردم محترم ایران، صحبت کنم.
ما در میانه یکی از بزرگترین عملیاتهای نظامی در تاریخ، هستیم – عملیات طلوع شیران. رژیم اسلامی که تقریباً ۵۰ سال شما را سرکوب کرده، تهدید به نابودی کشور ما- اسرائیل میکند.
— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) June 13, 2025
English Translation: “Tonight, I want to speak to you, the esteemed people of Iran. We are in the midst of one of the largest military operations in history – Operation Dawn of the Lions. The Islamic regime that has oppressed you for almost 50 years threatens to destroy our country – Israel. The goal of Israel’s operation is to prevent the Islamic regime’s nuclear and ballistic missile threats. While we achieve our goal, we also pave the way for you to achieve your freedom. In the past 24 hours, we have destroyed senior military commanders, prominent nuclear scientists, the Islamic regime’s most important enrichment facility, and a large part of its ballistic missile arsenal. Another operation is underway. The regime does not know what power has hit them or what power will hit them. This regime has never been so weak. This is your opportunity to stand up and make your voice heard. Woman, Life, Freedom Woman, life, freedom As I said yesterday and many times before, Israel’s struggle is not against the Iranian people. Our struggle is against the murderous Islamic regime that oppresses and impoverishes you. The people of Iran and the people of Israel have been friends since the time of Cyrus the Great. The time has come for the people of Iran to unite around their flag and historical heritage and fight for their freedom from The evil and oppressive regime must stand. Brave people of Iran, light triumphs over darkness. I am with you. The people of Israel are with you.”
The idea that Iran poses no threat to us is a fantasy.
Iran has killed hundreds of American troops. It tried to assassinate an ambassdor in D.C. It tried to kill President Trump. Its leaders chant death to America.
We must never let this terrorist regime get a nuclear weapon.
