Israel's attack, which has killed a number of Iranian military leaders and nuclear scientists, is the result of years of intelligence and infiltration, according to experts.
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Since Friday's extensive Israeli attack on hundreds of Iranian targets, there has been a dramatic escalation of the conflict between the two military powers in the Middle East.
Iran has responded with several rounds of rocket fire at Israel, and several times the rockets have penetrated the Israelis' solid air defense systems.
But Israel's attacks have so far been far more effective and destructive.
Several years of intelligence
Most recently, on Sunday, intelligence chief Mohammad Kazemi of the powerful Revolutionary Guard and two other Iranian generals were killed in Israeli attacks on Tehran, according to the Iranian news agency Tasnim.
A number of other Iranian leaders are among the several hundred killed so far, including the leader of the Revolutionary Guard, Hossein Salami, Chief of Defense Mohammad Bagheri and several of the country's top nuclear scientists.
"The attacks we are seeing are the result of years of intelligence gathering and infiltration of Iran," says Israeli analyst Michael Horowitz, pointing out that Israel has been closely monitoring Iran's nuclear program for 15 years.
The strategic Israeli attacks in Iran have continued at full force throughout the weekend. The scale and precision of the attacks have surprised many observers and raised questions about how deeply Israel has been able to penetrate Iran's defense systems.
Israel's intelligence service Mossad has probably carried out a number of sabotage operations in Iran for a long time, but not on this scale.
Big intelligence blunder
The operation has been in planning for a long time and comes in the wake of an attack on military targets in October last year, according to Horowitz.
– It appears that this week's operation has been in preparation for several months, with an escalation after last year's operation significantly weakened Iranian air defenses
Danny Citrinowicz, an analyst at the Tel Aviv-based Institute for National Security Studies, says the operation is largely due to the ability to gather intelligence in Iran over many years – intelligence that shows where a number of high-ranking figures live and are staying.
Last July, Hamas' political leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Tehran when a bomb went off at the guesthouse he was staying in. The bomb was allegedly planted at the guesthouse several weeks in advance.
The incident was considered to be a major intelligence blunder on Iran's part.
– Yet Iran did not have the ability to plug the holes in its systems, says Citrinowicz
Changing balance of power
The news website Axios has reported that Mossad agents in Iran placed weapons systems near Iranian air defenses and fired them during the attack on Friday. An Israeli intelligence source said that Mossad had long established a drone base in Iran.
Alain Chouet, who previously held high positions in French intelligence, is convinced that Israel has at least six units in Iran that are ready to be deployed at any time.
A former Israeli intelligence agent whom The Atlantic spoke with said that Iranians who are opposed to the religious regime are easy targets for Israeli intelligence to recruit.
The attacks have shown an impressive degree of precision and competence, a European security source told AFP.
Israel's ability to carry out precise attacks deep into Iranian territory shows that the balance of power in the region may be changing.
Published: June 16, 2025 05:43
