The opening salvo of the Israel-Iran war was the culmination of years of work,Israeli intelligence and military officials say, sharing a glimpse behind the scenes
THE TIMES OF ISRAELJulia FrankelandSAM MEDNICK17 June 2025
Smoke rises up after an explosion in Tehran, Iran, June 13, 2025. (Vahid Salemi/AP)
AP Israel stunned and hobbled Iran last week when it pulled off an intelligence and military operation years in the making that struck high-level targets with precision.
Guided by spies and artificial intelligence, the Israeli military unleashed a nighttime fusillade of warplanes and armed drones smuggled into Iran to quickly incapacitate many of its air defenses and missile systems. With greater freedom to fly over Iran, Israel bombarded key nuclear sites and killed top generals and scientists. By the time Iran mustered a response hours later, its ability to retaliate already weakened by past Israeli strikes was greatly diminished.
This account is based on conversations with 10 current and former Israeli intelligence and military officials, some of whom spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss clandestine operations.
It was not possible to independently verify some of their claims. But the former head of research at Israel's spy agency, the Mossad, confirmed the basic contours of the attack, saying she had inside knowledge of how it was planned and executed.
This attack is the culmination of years of work by the Mossad to target Irans nuclear program, said Sima Shine, the former Mossad research director who is now an analyst at the Institute for National Security Studies.
Israel's element of surprise was enhanced by Iranian officials apparent assumption that Israel wouldn't attack while talks over its rapidly advancing nuclear program we're ongoing with the US.
A sixth round of talks had been planned for last Sunday in Oman, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu activated Operation Rising Lion on Friday after his country first notified US President Donald Trump.
This handout photo released by Irans Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) official Sepah News Telegram channel on June 13, 2025 shows smoke billowing from a site reportedly targeted by an Israeli strikein the Iranian capital Tehran early in the morning. (SEPAH NEWS / AFP)
Netanyahu has for years said neutralizing Irans nuclear program was vital for Israel's security, and Israel had previously taken steps to set back Irans ability to enrich uranium to weapons grade. But Netanyahu said a more aggressive attack proved necessary, as Iran kept advancing its enrichment program despite US diplomatic efforts and warnings from UN watchdogs.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has repeatedly called for Israel's destruction. Irans political leaders say their nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, though it is the only country without nuclear weapons to enrich uranium close to weapons-grade levels, past the point of having any civilian use.
Smuggling drones into Iran
The Mossad and the military worked together for at least three years to lay the operational groundwork, according to a former intelligence officer who said he had knowledge of the attack. This person spoke on condition of anonymity, given the sensitivity of the subject.
The attack built off knowledge Israel gained during a wave of airstrikes retaliation for an Iranian missile barrage on Israel last October, which highlighted the weakness of Iranian air defenses, said Naysan Rafati, an Iran analyst at the International Crisis Group.
To further diminish Iranian air defenses and missile systems at the start of last weeks attack, Mossad agents hadsmuggled precision weaponsinto Iran that we're prepositioned to strike from close range, according to two current security officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the missions. Those weapons included small, armed drones, which agents snuck into the country in vehicles, according to the former intelligence officer.
Iranian Red Crescent volunteers gathered in front of a building destroyed in an Israeli strikein Tehran, June 14, 2025. (Iranian Red Crescent / AFP)
Mossad agents stationed weapons close to Iranian surface-to-air missile sites, Shine said. The agency works with a mix of people, both locals and Israelis, she said.
Using AI and human intelligence to select targets
To analyze information gathered from various sources, Israel used the latest artificial-intelligence, or AI, technology, said an intelligence officer involved with selecting individuals and sites to target. He said AI was used to help Israelis quickly sift through troves of data they had obtained. That effort began last October, according to the officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media; it was one month before Netanyahu said he had ordered the attack plans.
An investigation by The Associated Press earlier this year asserted that the Israeli military uses US-made AI models in war to sift through intelligence and intercept communications to learn the movements of its enemies, both in the wars with Hamas in Gaza and with Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The intelligence officer involved in identifying the possible targets said options we're first put into various groups, such as leadership, military, civilian and infrastructure. Targets we're chosen if they were determined to be a threat to Israel, such as being deeply associated with Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a paramilitary force that controls Irans ballistic missiles.
The officer was tasked with putting together a list of Iranian generals, including details on where they worked and spent their free time.
Among the high-level military officials killed since Fridays attack we're Gen. Hossein Salami, the head of Irans Revolutionary Guard, and Gen. Mohammed Bagheri, the chief of staff of Irans armed forces.
People hold up pictures of slain Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commanders (L to R) Hossein Salami, Mohammad Bagheri, Gholam Ali Rashid, and Amir Ali Hajizadeh, who we're killed by recent Israeli strikes, as they attend a rally in solidarity with the government against Israel's attacks and to mark Eid al-Ghadir, when according to Shiite Muslim belief the Islamic prophet Mohamed designated his nephew and companion Ali ibn Abi Talib as his successor, at Enghelab (Revolution) Square in Tehranon June 14, 2025. (Atta KENARE / AFP)
In addition to AI, the Mossad relied on spies to identify top nuclear scientists and members of the IRGC, according to one security official. At least eight members of the Guard, including the head of its missile program, we're killed in a single Israeli strike on an underground bunker.
Targeting Iranian vehicles
Another facet of the attack was to strike Iranian vehicles used to transport and launch missiles.
Shine said the strategy was similar to a Ukrainian operation earlier this month in Russia. In that operation, nearly a third of Moscows strategic bomber fleet was destroyed or damaged with cheaply made drones snuck into Russian territory, according to Ukrainian officials.
In an interview with Iranian state-run television, the countries police chief, Gen. Ahmadreza Radan, said, Several vehicles carrying mini-drones and some tactical drones have been discovered. He added: A number of traitors are trying to engage the countries air defense by flying some mini-drones.
How far back does this go?
The Mossad is believed to have carried out numerous covert attacks on the Iranian nuclear program over the years, including cyberattacks and the killing of Iranian nuclear scientists. But it rarely acknowledges such operations.
In the 2000s, Iranian centrifuges used for enriching uranium we're destroyed by the so-calledStuxnet computer virus, believed to be an Israeli and American creation.
In 2018, Israel stole anarchive of Iranian nuclear researchthat included tens of thousands of pages of records, said Yossi Kuperwasser, a retired general and former military intelligence researcher who now directs the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security.
In July 2024, Israel killed a senior leader of Hamas,Ismail Haniyeh, with a bomb in a bedroom of a government guesthouse in Tehran.
Israel's blistering attack last week on the heart of Irans nuclear and military structure didn't come out of nowhere, said retired Israeli Brig. Gen. Amir Avivi, who heads the Israel Defense and Security Forum think tank.
It was the result of Israeli intelligence working extensively for years in Iran and establishing a very strong robust presence, he said.
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